


under the shadow of a tree

by sacrednut



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A House Is Not Always A Home, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Doesn't Want To Give Away Too Many Spoilers But Can Promise You This Is Not TROS 2.0, Author Is Taking Custody Of The Characters Now, Author Promises This is HEA, Author is Forever Angry About TROS, BB8 Is An Orange Cat, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben's POV, Books, Chewbacca Is An Owl, Childhood friends to enemies to lovers, Duelling, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Food is a Love Lenguage, Foster Care, Growing Up Together, HEA, Hogwarts First Year, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Leia's Pov, M/M, Magic, Maz Knows More Than She Says, Past Child Abuse, Please Trust The Author, Rey Likes Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey's POV, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Rey/Kylo Ren, Soft Ben Solo, THIS IS NOT GOING THE WAY YOU THINK, TROS Had Good Ideas That Should've Been Handled In A Completely Different Way, Trust the Author, Young Ben Solo, Young Rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacrednut/pseuds/sacrednut
Summary: // spoilersReylo HP AU where Ben and Rey were childhood friends. He disappears for years. Next time they meet he's wearing a mask and has the Dark Mark on his arm
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 136
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there  
> This is going to be long (part I-IV, 10 chapters each app; the chapter count may rise) so buckle up.   
> The tags will be updated and so will the archive warnings. Read them.   
> Don't hesitate to DM me if you have any questions about them (link at the end of each chapter). 
> 
> Next Expected Update: 01/01/2021
> 
> Let's go.

**PART I**

* * *

Rey was bored. She swung her legs in the air and looked down to the wooden floor from the upper bunk. She had never slept in a bed so tall.

Not like she had a choice, really. Her roommate, Rose, she thought her name was, arrived at the foster-care home a few weeks before her and took possession of the lower bunk. Rey hadn’t had a chance to know her yet. Rose liked to play football with the other kids on the small patio behind Maz’s house and Rey… well, she would have joined if she’d been sure nothing bad would happen.

That nothing bad would happen because of her.

She could hear the screams and laughs from the other kids outside. The sun was shining and the sky was clear, a warm, lazy breeze swaying the branches of the trees outside her window in slow motion. She lifted the pillow from her bed and grabbed the worn red shoes, placing them on each foot.

Ten-year old Rey jumped to the floor and landed with a silent thump in her red sandals. She liked them. They had been a birthday present from her previous foster caregiver. They were too tight on her feet. She didn’t mind, they were hers.

Rey walked outside her shared room, carefully closing the door before walking to the lobby. The house was big, and she hadn’t fully explored it yet, but she knew her way through the basics: her room, the kitchen, the bathroom and, most importantly, the front door.

The back door opened and some kids entered the house chatting loudly, sweaty and sticky red-faces, to grab a glass of water before going outside again, but they didn’t pay her any attention. Rey reached the knob of the front door and felt eyes staring at her nape. She turned around and saw the little old lady who had asked her to call her Maz, a kitchen cloth on one hand. Maz tilted her head and raised an eyebrow while she spoke. “Back before dinner, okay?”

Rey nodded, a little smile gracing her lips. She didn’t know Maz well yet, but she liked that she let her go outside and wander around as much as she wanted. The only condition was that Rey had to be back in time to help get the table for dinner.

Her hand opened the front door quickly and closed it with a silent _click!_. As she walked through the front door and crossed the front yard, she could hear the screaming and laughs fading away, replaced by the sound of sprinklers watering the vibrant green grass of the neighbors.

She fixed her eyes down on the hot pavement under her sandals, focusing on not stepping on the lines that divided the tiles, skipping through them. Rey liked the street where she lived now. There wasn’t any dirt and the houses seemed clean. Too clean, sometimes. Plus, every time she went outside the street been empty, only a few cars here and there.

Her skipping continued while the houses spaced between them more and more, until she reached the last one. Her sandals touched green, tall, wild grass. Rey looked up and smiled. Her favorite part of living with Maz is that she could walk there every day if she wanted to and no one would bother her.

Rey's eyes beamed while she took it all in. A wide extension of fluffy green grass. To her right, a few meters away, a playground: a swing, a slide and some bars, all painted in bright yellow. To her left, trees scattered here and there, circling a blue pond, with branches swinging lazily in the summer breeze. Her favorite one was the nearest to the dark-blue pond, a big weeping willow with a thick trunk.

For some reason, the park was almost always empty and Rey loved it. It calmed her down to know that if anything happened, she would be alone. She wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Rey took her red shoes off and grabbed them with one hand, walking towards her tree. She smiled again, closing her eyes. She loved the tingling of the grass on her bare toes and the warm summer wind caressing the loose baby hairs that weren’t tugged in her three buns.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing her little shoulders. Everything had a warm glow thanks to the sunlight. Her feet didn’t make a sound as she got closer to the tree.

Once she was almost there, Rey noticed a figure sitting on the ground, laying his back against the trunk of her tree. As she got closer, she realized it was a boy, a little older than her. He wasn’t one of the kids living with her at Maz’s, she decided, after giving him a quick look. He had one leg spread and a book resting on the other, flexing his knee. He didn’t seem aware of her, completely focused on his reading.

But there was something else, she noticed. Her footsteps stopped. He had one hand holding the book against his knee, but the other one was laying on the grass, next to his spread leg, lazily twirling his fingers. Little leaves levitated in the air, a few inches away from his hand, dancing in small circles.

_Oh, no._

Her sandals fell from her hand with a silent thud. Rey considered walking away slowly and quietly, since the boy hadn’t spotted her yet, but curiosity was stronger. She had never seen anyone else do the things she could do.

Rey looked around with nervous eyes, checking no one was peering at either of them, but they were the only two people in the park. Her heart hammered in her chest. She crossed two fingers and closed her eyelids, gritting her teeth and holding her breath. She waited.

And waited.

But nothing happened, besides a warm breeze caressing her face. Rey opened one eye and exhaled silently when she verified everything was normal around her. _That’s weird_ , she thought. It was taking longer than usual.

“Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to spy on other people?”, the boy asked in an annoyed tone, startling her. His eyes hadn't left the book resting on his thigh. Rey eyed the leaves laying innocently flat on his palm.

She frowned. “Didn’t anyone tell you I don’t care?” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “How do you that?”

The boy placed a bookmark on the page he was reading and closed the blue cover. He turned around to face her. Rey stared at the pale, big-eared, thin boy. His eyes scrutinized hers as he asked “How do I do what?”

“How do you do _that_ without making something explode?”, Rey asked, moving her chin upwards, trying to seem taller and more menacing than she felt.

The boy’s eyebrows joined in a confused frown and his eyes seemed lost. “What do you mean? Why would anything explode?”

Unconsciously, Rey took two steps backwards. Her mind was spinning. _What did he mean? Was he mocking her? He must know that something bad always happens when someone does...that._

She glanced back at him to see he was waiting expectantly for a response. She didn’t have one. He didn’t seem afraid, not at all.

 _Unless_ _…_

Unless she was the problem. Unless there was something wrong with her and the bad things happened because she was the one doing them. Her eyelids closed. She could hear and feel the screams, slaps and tears replaying in her head. She sensed it again, the energy prickling her hands, demanding to be liberated.

 _No_. She had promised herself she wouldn’t let it happen again, that she wouldn’t use it again unless it was absolutely necessary. She'd avoided every situation that could possibly trigger. Maz seemed nice enough, and she knew it was her last stop before ending up in an orphanage. Apparently, there was only a limited number of foster caregivers willing to receive a problematic child, even temporarily.

Rey opened her eyes. The boy was standing up in front of her. She noticed he was taller than her and stared at his dark worried eyes. “Are you okay?”, he asked.

She could still feel her hands itching, power ready to be released.

The boy extended an arm to her shoulder. _No. Don’t touch me._

Rey swallowed hard and gave him a panicked glance before grabbing her red shoes from the grass and running away as fast as she could, holding them against her chest. Still, she heard a voice calling after her.

“HEY! I’M BEN BY THE WAY!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello there  
> This fic is pretty much completely outlined, so I can guarantee there's going to be a HEA but we have a LONG way, so bare with me lmao  
> There’s going to be little references and winks to some books/movies all along the fic (some Adam Driver ones included) so let me know if you spot them! Comments and kudos are appreciated <3 (I'd love to read theories about what you think it's gonna happen or things that you like)  
> Shoutout and special thanks to Olivia for officially accepting to be my beta <3  
> Let's go

The next morning, Rey woke up to the smell of pancakes. She hadn’t been living with Maz for long, but she could tell it wasn’t something ordinary. She usually had a glass of cold milk and toast. Still, it was way better than most foster-care houses she had been in.

Rey stretched like a cat, yawning. She drew her bedroom curtains and looked through the window to see the sky. It was filled with fluffy white clouds. She took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling of the tiny room. Maz had eyed her suspiciously yesterday when she came back to the house panting red-faced, but didn't ask any questions. Not even when Rey had locked herself in her room until she had stopped shaking and felt in control again. Once she had managed it, Rey helped Maz place the table for dinner.

She was frustrated. How easily she could've lost control. He had taken her by surprise, but it wouldn't happen again, she promised herself. Next time, she'd be ready and would demand him to show her how to do _it._ She’d ask Ben. 

He’d probably laugh when he saw her running as fast as her legs allowed. Probably congratulated himself for mocking her, telling her he didn't know what she was talking about. But Rey didn’t care. Somehow he had managed to control _it_ and Rey would make him talk, whatever means necessary. Rey wondered if he went to the park frequently and, if he did, if he always sat on her tree. That would be a problem. _He would just have to find his own damn tree_. 

Her stomach growled.

Rey pulled the blankets away and jumped to the floor, deciding to make her bed later. Pancakes were more important. Rose had already arranged the lower bunk, neatly hiding the covers under the mattress, not a wrinkle on sight. Rey frowned. _Who wakes up early and makes their bed on a Sunday morning?_

Barefoot, she walked towards the kitchen, passing through the hallway. She noticed there were framed pictures of the kids that lived there with her hanging on the walls. She heard laughs coming from the living room, where some fully-dressed kids were playing Monopoly on the floor. They looked at her sunflower pajamas but didn’t say a word. Rey was too hungry to care, either way, and she ignored them to follow the buttery smell.

Maz was in the kitchen with her back turned to her, humming a song while she flipped a pancake in the air, grabbing the pan with one hand. In the counter next to her was a pile of golden, fluffy, fat pancakes, filled with chocolate chips. Rey felt her mouth water. Unconsciously, she walked towards them and grabbed the plate, startling Maz.

“Jesus Christ, kid! I didn’t hear you come in”, said Maz, as she left the sizzling pan on the stove. She examined the skinny girl wearing a yellow pajama, holding a plate too big for her tiny hands, barefoot. Maz hid a sad smile. Rey seemed ready to run away with the whole pile.

“I’ll tell you what. You can have as many pancakes as you want, but you have to put slippers on first. I left a pair for you in the closet. And I don’t appreciate you scaring me every time I turn around”, Maz said, slowly extending a hand to grab the plate from Rey’s hands.

Rey frowned. “I don’t like them. I like to have my feet free”, she said, still grabbing the plate with crisped fingers and wiggling her toes.

Maz narrowed her eyes playfully. “How about socks, then? You’re going to catch a cold if you always go barefoot”.

With a loud growl, her stomach made the decision for her. Rey let go of the plate and sprinted to her room to grab the first pair of socks she could find, put them on and ran back to the kitchen. Maz had placed a plate with a huge pile of pancakes on it and a fork next to it in the small kitchen island.

Rey sat on a chair, her feet a solid foot from the floor. She grabbed the fork and filled her mouth with warm pancakes, closing her eyelids and munching happily. 

Maz looked at her with sad eyes, remembering the words of the social worker when she dropped Rey a few weeks ago, “ _They found her locked up in a room, surrounded with trash. She hadn’t eaten a thing in days. I don’t know how she survived_ ”. Scrappy little girl.

“Rey? Would you help me prepare lunch after you get up? You’re free to walk around on the afternoon.”.

The girl opened her eyes and nodded quickly, chewing on another chunk of the warm goodness.

-o-

Rey stared at her red shoes while she counted the pavement tiles. She had decided to go to the park again, only to check if the boy was there. She decided to confront him if he dared to make fun of her again and to state very clearly that that tree was hers.

Nothing bad had happened, so she assumed it was safe when _Ben_ did… it. Still, she wasn’t completely convinced. Maybe she had imagined it and it was the wind lifting leaves or an optical illusion, like the ones she had seen in an old book at school. Rey shook her head. No, her instincts told her the boy could do things like her. She was sure, even if he was the first person she met with.. _abilities_. Sucks that he was a jerk.

Her shoes stopped at the beginning of a trail of green grass. Her heart hammered against her sternum. _What if he was there and tried to mock her again?_ She curled her hand into fists and took a deep breath. _Control_. She would be perfectly nice unless he acted up. Then, she wouldn’t feel bad if she _accidently_ threw him in the pond.

Rey decided not to take her shoes off this time, in case she needed an emergency exit again. It was uncomfortable running without them. Swallowing hard, she examined the surroundings. A neighbor walked his dog two blocks away, but the area was silent save for the light wind in the trees.

Slowly, she walked towards the weeping willow beside the pond, trying to control her breathing. _What if the boy was there? What if he was expecting her?_

_What if he wasn’t and she never saw him again?_

She quickened her pace, reaching the protective shadow in just a few minutes, a few feet away from the trunk. Yesterday he was laying with his back against it, hiding from any curious eyes coming from the road. Rey turned around the tree, half-dreading, half-hoping to find him, but she was alone. No sign of Ben. She looked around to see if he was sitting by another tree, but she was the only one in the park.

Rey exhaled sadly. _Weird_ , she thought. _Sad?_

Her eyes dropped to the grass to notice a book on the ground, on the exact same spot he had sat yesterday. She saw it was the same book he had been reading. Her hand reached it and caressed the blue leather cover with her fingers. She had never seen or touched a book so heavy and magnificent.

She examined her surroundings again, confused. _Why would anyone leave such a beautiful book just laying around on the dirt?_ Rey frowned. Maybe Ben had forgotten it yesterday. Maybe he had been reading there earlier and then had to do something and left it there for when he returned.

 _What if he came back and found her grabbing his book?_ Rey rushed to hide it. It wasn’t her fault he was so careless to just abandon things. She decided she would guard it and return it to him when he dignified to show up again.

She cleaned the bit of dirt on the back of the book and held it tightly against her chest as she walked home. She didn’t know yet if the other kids would steal her things like the other foster homes, so she would have to be extra-careful to hide it.

She closed the front door silently and walked to her room, trying to be as quiet as she could. She had hidden the book over her shirt, under her overalls and crossed her arms over her chest. However, her precautions were unnecessary because no one bothered her except for a shy invitation from the kids playing PlayStation on the living room TV, which she declined shaking her head. Rey reached the bedroom door safely, closing it behind her back. Rose wasn’t there, as usual.

Rey took her shoes off and hesitated. They wouldn’t fit next to the book under her pillow, and it felt wrong to put them together. She sighed and put her sandals in the closet before climbing to her bed.

She tapped her impatient fingers over the cover of the book. Half of the kids were in the living room, the other half playing Trivial Pursuit on the dining room. It wouldn’t hurt anybody if she just peeked at what the boy was reading. She would get it back to him, of course, but in the meantime...

She nestled against the wall, displaying the book on her thighs, opening it with nervous hands. “ _Matilda_ ”, her eyes read. “Just a peek”, she muttered.

2 hours later, Maz passed in front of Rey’s room, door halfway open from the wind, arms filled with clean laundry. She stopped and quietly stood outside of the door, a smile dancing on her lips seeing the girl so concentrated that she hadn’t even noticed Maz’s presence.

She tilted her head. That didn’t come from her house, she only had school textbooks. Her eyes examined the book Rey was holding and a spark of joy lighted them when she recognized where it came from. Suddenly, she had an idea.

Rey raised her eyes from the book when she heard a knock on her door. She closed it and hid it under her pillow fast. She noticed Maz smiling, standing on her bedroom door, holding a black backpack.

“Can I come in?” Maz asked. Rey nodded, crossing her legs.

Maz entered the tiny room and left the bag on Rey’s bed. “You’re going to school tomorrow, child. I’ve put textbooks, notebooks, pens and a little something extra inside. Your birthday was last month, right?”

Rey looked at her and nodded again, smiling while she opened the bag and took out her stuff. The textbooks were worn and the notebooks seemed battered, but they were precious in her eyes.

“Rose will be in the same grade as you. She’ll show you the way to school and everything about it, I already talked to her”.

Lastly, she took out a heavy, leather covered, black notebook. Rey opened it and ran her fingers on the soft paper. She looked at Maz with a silent question, not sure why she had gifted it to her, but still grateful.

Maz smiled at her knowingly. “When I read I always like to have pen and paper near me. I thought you might like to have it too”

Rey caressed the soft cover with her thumb. “What could I write about?”, she asked, looking into Maz’s wrinkled eyes.

“Anything you want. Whatever brings you peace. A memory, a quote, a place. Sometimes I think certain things while I read and then I forget them, so it’s useful to write them down. And sometimes I write something I thought or something I felt reading so I can tell it later to someone.”

Rey’s eyes moved in a flash to her pillow and she held her breath, expecting a full questionary about where the book came from. Instead, Maz said:

“Would you help me set up the table? Dinner is almost ready”

Rey nodded and Maz smiled, walking towards the door.

“Maz?”, Rey called.

“Yes?”

“Thank you”, she said. _For not asking questions. For the notebook. For feeding me_. Rey thought.

Maz smiled again. “Of course, dear. Now chop chop, Rose is helping me out with the salad and she’s almost ready”, said as she walked outside Rey’s room.

Rey put everything back in her new bag, including her new notebook. She had closed Ben’s book in such a rush she had forgotten to place the bookmark that was on the first page when she had first opened the book. She grabbed it from under her pillow, searched for the page she was reading and placed the bookmark, a black rectangle with blue butterflies, in it. She closed it again and tugged it carefully, so it wasn’t noticeable from outside.

She didn’t know how long she had been reading, but it was much longer than she anticipated.

She loved every word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout and special thanks to Olivia for being my beta and to Tricia for her amazing brain ❤️
> 
> Let's go

“I just don’t get why don’t you play with us, Rey”, Rose said as they walked back home on Tuesday.

Rey kicked a small pebble on the pavement, making it roll. “It’s better that way, trust me”.

“The other kids are going to think you're weird”

Rey shrugged. “Okay”

Rose eyed her, grabbing both handles of the backpack on her shoulders. “We don’t bite, you know?” She gently told her.

Rey chuckled and lifted her eyes from the ground. “I hope not. I’d be up all night making sure you don’t go all vampire on me, Tico”.

Rose smiled. “Fair. Just know that I’m here if you ever want to do something else than walk around alone”, said looking at her. Rey gave her a little smile as they opened Maz’s front door.

One of the younger kids was helping place the table for lunch. Rose went to say hello to him and he waved at Rey.

“Rose, Rey, wash your hands, please”. Maz carried a giant bowl filled with spaghetti and meatballs to the dining room.

Rey nodded and walked into her room, leaving her black bag on the bed after checking Ben’s book was still under her pillow, as she had left it last night. She walked into the bathroom and washed her hands, looking at her reflection.  _ “We don’t bite, you know?” _

Rey exhaled.  _ Baby steps. _

She walked into the dining room and gave a timid smile to the other kids sitting at the table, rolling her sleeves up to her forearms. “What can I do to help?”

Maz shook her head, placing plates for everyone. “You can help me later by cleaning the dishes. How was school, dear?”

Rey avoided her eyes and sat on the table beside Rose. “Same as yesterday, except I didn’t have to introduce myself”

Maz placed a huge portion of food on Rey’s plate and looked at her. “I see” Rey grabbed her fork and placed an entire meatball in her mouth. “What about classes?”

Rose gave a small summary of how Mrs. Jones had given her homework for next week while Rey ate looking out the window.

After helping Maz clean up the dishes from lunch, Rey grabbed her backpack and shoved Ben’s book, a hoodie, her notebook and pen inside and quietly walked outside, closing the front door with a quiet _click_.

Her red shoes tapped against the concrete and she swayed her sun-kissed arms in the warm wind. She had stayed up late last night finishing the book, taking notes of her favorite quotes on the little notebook. Luckily, Rose was a heavy sleeper, or if she had been awake, she hadn’t complained about Rey’s flashlight and the sound of pages passing.

She wondered if Ben would be there.  _ Tap, tap, tap _ , her feet resonated. She wondered if he would be upset that she took her book.  _ Tap, tap, tap _ . 

_ Well, if he didn’t want anyone taking his stuff, maybe he shouldn’t have left it just lying around _ , Rey reasoned. 

_ Tap, tap, tap _ . Plus, she wasn’t stealing it, she just took care of it and was trying to give it back.

Her footsteps muted when she reached the tall, fluffy green grass of the little meadow. Rey considered taking her shoes off but decided against it. At least until she could check if Ben was there.

With a deep breath, tightly holding the backpack straps on her shoulders, she walked towards  her  tree.

Ben was there, lying his back against the trunk. Her footsteps stopped, 10 feet away from it. From him.

He smiled with his eyelids closed. “You took your time”

Rey frowned, confused.  _ Was he expecting her? _

Ben opened his eyes slowly. Hazel, like hers, Rey noticed. “What did you think of the book?”

Her eyes twinkled with recognition. He had left it for her. She tilted her head, a little smile dancing on the corner of her lips. “What makes you think I read it?”

Ben shrugged. His blue shirt was loosely hanging on his lanky frame. “Am I wrong?”

Rey’s eyes glowed with diversion, half-smiling, but didn’t answer nor moved.

“Don’t worry”, he added. “I won’t do  _ it _ again”

Rey knew he wasn’t talking about the book and, for some reason, decided to trust him. She nodded and walked towards the tree.

And sat next to him.

Ben smiled again. “What’s your name?”, he asked as she joined him against the weeping willow.

Crossing her legs, she shrugged the bag from her back and unzipped it, grabbing the blue book and extending it to him. “Niima. Rey Niima”, she paused. “I really liked it”.

He grinned a smile so wide that his too-big ears moved with his lips. “I’m Solo. Ben Solo”. He looked at her extended hand. “You can keep it if you want, I don’t mind”.

Rey shook her head and extended the book. She didn’t have a shelf or anywhere to put it, anyway.

“What did you think of Trunchbull?”, Ben asked, taking the book from her hands.

“I wouldn’t have let her put me in a closet”, Rey said cockily. “I would have punched her before she could touch me”.

Ben laughed. “I believe you”

Rey half-smiled and looked at him. “You don’t go to school, do you?”

Ben shook his head. “No, my birthday isn’t for a few weeks”

“What does your birthday have to do with anything?” she frowned.

Ben narrowed his eyelids. “The letter arrives when you turn eleven.”

Rey looked at him confused. “Letters from who?”

“From Hogwarts, obviously”

“Hog- what?”

“Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry”

Rey didn’t answer. Maybe she had made a mistake and the boy was crazy.

“Rey...” he looked at her with cautious eyes. “You do know you’re a witch, right?”

Her eyes widened and she stopped breathing, her pulse jamming her throat. Ben was looking at her with worry etched on his face.  That was it , the confirmation that he was effectively mad. She closed her bag. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Wait Rey, don’t go.”

Rey looked at him. He didn’t look delusional but his eyes seemed concerned. She took a deep breath but kept her bag close to her hand. She took a leap of faith. “Explain yourself”.

He moved his hands nervously, scratching his head for a bit. “Weird things happen to you sometimes, right? Things you can’t explain and sometimes… things you can’t control?”

Rey swallowed, her breathing erratic. She whispered, “I… I try to control it. I don't know what it is, it’s like a, like a..”

“Like energy”, Ben said.

He eyed her carefully while he spoke “Rey, there are some people who can...use that energy. People like us. Witches and wizards. But we don’t call it that. We call it… magic”.

Rey’s heart was hammering so loud she thought it was going to pop out of her chest. His words were ridiculous, but still, all her instincts were telling her Ben wasn’t lying.  _ A witch _ . The word felt alien in her head and yet, seemed appropriate.  _ A witch _ . She swallowed again.

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”, she breathed.

If he had been offended he’d hidden it well. “You saw me the other day”, he tilted his head. “I can show you again if you want me to”.

Rey hesitated. “Can you show me how to do it without-”? She didn’t finish the question but Ben nodded.

“I think I can.. teach you some stuff but I only know the basics. They’ll teach you everything at Hogwarts. It’s one of the schools where people like us learn to handle magic. There are others but Hogwarts is the biggest one.”

Rey’s eyes glowed. “How do you know all this?”

“My parents are wizards”

“So that’s why you don’t go to normal school”

Ben chuckled. “Yeah. Mom wanted me to go to muggle school until I was old enough to go to Hogwarts but dad said it was a load of crap”.

Rey frowned. “What did you say? Mug-“

“Oh, muggles. It’s what we call people who can’t do magic”

_ Normal people _ , Rey thought. “But how do you know I can go there?”

“You’ll get your letter when you turn eleven, trust me. You live with Maz, right?” Rey nodded. “Then they’ll probably send someone from the school to talk to her. They do that with students who don’t live with other wizards”

_ Eleven _ . A year before she could read her letter (if it ever came) and confirm Ben’s words. It seemed so far away. She looked at the pond. “And you will just get a letter”

Ben nodded.

“What happens when you get it?”

“They send you a list of things you need to buy and a ticket to a train that gets you to the school. I think classes start on September 2 nd but they ask you to go the day before”

Rey’s head was spinning.  _ Magic, witches, trains _ . She eyed him. He seemed calmed as if he had nothing else to do. If he was making it all up, it was a  _ very _ elaborate lie.

“What do you do if you don’t go to a normal school then?”

“I read a lot. And sometimes I practice magic exercises”, he shrugged.

He could read all day if he wanted to.  _ Lucky _ . A cold breeze passed through them and Rey shivered. She grabbed her bag to retrieve the hoodie. She opened it and Ben looked at her with curious eyes while she struggled with the long sleeves.

“What’s that?”, he asked, looking at the notebook inside her bag.

Rey shrugged. “Nothing”

Ben looked at her with amusement glowing in his eyes. “Can I see your nothing?”

Rey rolled her eyes. “Fine”. He smiled and grabbed it. “I just wrote some quotes I liked from the book”. She looked at him suspiciously, expecting him to laugh.

Instead, he gave her a weird look, looking at the cover without opening it.

Rey lifted her chin. “What?”

Ben shook his head and hid his lips, containing a smile. He grabbed something besides him that Rey hadn’t noticed. It was the same notebook. She grabbed it with both hands but he didn’t let go. Ben smiled, shaking his head again. 

Rey narrowed her eyelids. "Show me yours and I'll show you mine"

Ben looked into her hazels for a moment, assessing if he could trust her. He nodded slowly and they exchanged notebooks.

His writing was very neat for a boy that young, nothing like Rey’s drabbles. She extended a finger through the page filled with words. She recognized some paragraphs from _Matilda_. Rey smiled. “How come you write so beautifully?”

Ben shrugged. “My mom and I used to do calligraphy together when I was little. Her writing is prettier.” He examined Rey’s quotes and laughed. “This one? Really?”

She left her eyes from Ben’s notebook and examined what he was showing her with one finger. “What about it? Do you live with her?” Rey’s curiosity filled her eyes.

Ben’s smile tilted a bit. “Yeah, I mean… sometimes? She’s away a lot, so it’s only dad and me. But mostly, just me.”, answered, focusing his eyes on Rey’s notebook. “Mom teaches at Hogwarts, she’s the Head of Gryffindor”, he said proudly.

She smiled at him, even though she had no idea what that meant, still holding Ben’s notebook tightly. Mom _and_ dad. Rey vaguely remembered her mom, mostly just her voice.

“My parents both went there. He was a Quidditch player and she was Head-Girl” Ben explained, lingering his eyes on Rey’s shoes.

She frowned, confused.

Ben laughed. “I’m sorry, I forgot there’s so much you don’t know. Don’t worry, I’ll explain.”. He cleared his throat and started to tell Rey of a world unknown. A world that would soon be hers.

A few hours had gone by, and the sun was closer to the horizon when Ben finished talking. Rey’s head was spinning but sparks of joy ran through her chest. Everything still seemed really weird, but Ben made her feel less lost. Less lonely.

“Wait, but if both your parents are wizards” she frowned “Why do you have muggle books? That’s what they’re called, right?”

Ben nodded. “Well, my grandparents died when my mom was very little, she was adopted by a muggle family. They died a few years ago too, but mom told me she loved to read when she was little, so she brought books from her old house and bought some so I could read as well”

Rey’s chest hurt. She would have given anything to have a mom that cared enough to buy her books. “That’s really sweet”, she muttered.

“I would rather if my mom came back more often.” Ben shrugged. “What about you? Your parents never said anything when you did magic?”

She locked her eyes on the peaceful pond _. A sweet, soft voice singing to her. _ The sunset glow illuminated two birds flying, a big and a small one. They flew in a long circle before they disappeared into the horizon, together.  _ But then she was gone and she had been put in a bad place _ . Rey swallowed.  _ Screams, hunger. So hungry. _

Ben grabbed her hand. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”, he squeezed.

She nodded him a grateful look and Ben let go of her hand. “So, you like to read?”, he asked, toying with a leaf.

Rey smiled. “Yeah, but there aren’t any books like the one you lend me on Maz’s place. She just has textbooks”

Ben tilted his head. “I can lend you more books if you want. Or I can bring a new book tomorrow and we can read it together after you come back from school”

Excitement grew on Rey’s chest but she held back. It didn’t seem fair, she didn’t have anything to contribute. Her stomach growled. She had an idea. “I can bring us snacks. And you’ll show me how to do magic without-”, she gestured with one hand.

Ben nodded while Rey grabbed her notebook and zipped her bag. The sun was setting and Maz wouldn’t be happy if she arrived late. She stood up, brushing tiny leaves from her shorts. “I have to go. See you tomorrow, Solo”, she said with a tiny grin, as she tugged baby hairs behind her ear.

He smiled at her. “Same time, same place?”

Rey nodded, and remembered to tell him, “This is my tree, by the way”.

Ben scoffed, standing up and brushing grass from his jeans. “Lies. I was here before you, and this is  _ my  _ tree”.

She rolled her eyes and walked a few steps before she turned around. “Ben?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Thank you”, she said.  _ For explaining everything. For wanting to spend more time with me. _

He hid a smile. “See you tomorrow, Niima”.

Ben watched the little girl with her hair in 3 burns walk away as he stood beside the tree.

-o-

The next day, Rey went into Maz’s backyard while the other kids were inside and filled her bag with small, round, orange fruits hanging on the lower branches of the trees. Clementines, Maz had called them when she asked. She also grabbed chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen and walked away silently, unaware that a friendly pair of eyes stared at her.

Rey exhaled.

“Okay, good. Now close your eyes and concentrate. Tell me what you feel around you”

Her eyelids closed. She inhaled, filling her lungs. Rey could feel the grass underneath her toes, the breeze on her arms, could smell the fruit Ben was eating beside her, could hear the birds chirping and flying over the pond. And something else. Her palms itched with something bright and sparkly. She described it to Ben.

It was beautiful and charged with energy, but she knew what would happen, like so many times before. Fear crippled on her chest and she started trembling.

“Ben”, she called, with a fearful tone.

“Deep breaths, Rey”

She tried, but she was shaking too much. Rey heard a  _ CRACK _ over her head.

“REY!”

She opened her eyes and saw a branch fall on the grass, 8 feet from them. Ben had a hand extended in front of him, with a calm, concentrated expression. Rey looked at him with wide eyes, realizing he had stopped it from hitting the ground too hard.

“I’m sorry”

_ That was it, he would walk away and call her a freak _ , she thought. He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. We just need to practice more, okay?”

Rey nodded and gave him a little grateful smile.

Ben sat down and tapped the grass beside him, inviting her to sit next to him. She did.

“Rey, what we do, the magic and everything. We are channelizers, like antennas. Magic is everywhere, all around everyone and everything. Wizards just channel it”

Rey looked at him. “How do you know all this?”

“My uncle taught me some stuff after my mom asked him to. He’s pretty cool, knows a lot of things. He always says that magic flows through us and what we do with it shows what’s inside of us”

She swallowed. “Then… is there something wrong with me? Those things don't happen when you do it.”

Ben chuckled. “I’ve been practicing longer. I never made anything explode, I think, but magic used to come in bursts, like you. Now it feels more.. consistent? Peaceful?”

Rey considered it for a second. “What changed? When did you notice the difference?”

“Hmm” Ben looked at the sky while he thought. “I guess it was when I accepted it. That it was a part of me. And not something necessarily bad”, he shrugged, peeling another clementine.

Rey looked at the pond.

“I don’t know exactly how it works, but if you’re afraid of yourself... I don’t think that’s going to help.”

“But how could I not be? How can you not?”, Rey laughed with a sad tone. “You weren’t there” She shook her head.  _ He didn’t, he couldn’t understand _ .

“Exactly. I wasn’t. And now I am, so if you feel like you’re going to lose control I can stop it.”

Rey looked at him.

“No pressure, though. We can take it as slow as you need, I don’t mind”, he shrugged.

She smiled. “Thank you”.

Ben gave her a wink while he ate. Rey blushed and looked at the orange sun setting on the horizon. They had been practicing all afternoon and decided to start reading tomorrow. She had a feeling it would become a routine. One day reading, one day practice.

She hoped it would.

“Ben?” He looked at her. “Can we try one more time before I go?”.

He smiled and nodded, standing up.

-o-

“The Oompa-Loompas are mean”

“THEY’RE NOT”

“THEY SING AFTER EACH KID HAS A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. Honestly, either they’re all brainwashed or they’re just straight-up cruel”

Ben laughed and rolled over himself, with his back lying on the grass. He was peeling a clementine with his fingers, focused on his task. “You’re just jealous they live in a chocolate factory and they can eat all the chocolate they want”, he teased.

“Aren’t you?”, Rey raised an eyebrow at him.

“No” Ben huffed. “I don’t like chocolate that much”. He tossed a piece of fruit up in the air and caught it with his mouth.

“Who doesn’t like chocolate?” Rey munched a cookie.

“It’s too sweet”, Ben shrugged. “Anyway, what do you think of Wonka so far?”

“He’s an asshole.”

“You’re way too cynical, Niima”, he rolled his eyes, moving to sit and grabbing another clementine from Rey’s bag while she sat with the book opened on the page they had been reading.

“He pretty much made a race to see who makes out alive from his evil factory. The one that survives gets a lifetime of candy, screw everyone else, right?”, Rey exhaled, expecting another laugh from him.

Silence.

Rey raised her eyes from the page she was re-reading, sitting with her legs crossed. “Ben?”

He was sitting looking at the horizon, watching the orange sun descend, with a frown. He didn’t meet her eyes. A week had passed since he had told her she was a witch. They had met every afternoon. Some days Ben helped her with exercises, some days he picked a book and Rey brought snacks from Maz’s house.

She placed the blue butterfly bookmark on the page and closed the book. “What’s wrong?”

Ben swallowed hard. “My mom is back”

Rey tilted her head. “I didn’t know that was a bad thing”

He shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s just… they fight. Every time she comes back. I have to get out of the house because the yelling makes me…”. He shook his head again.

Rey nodded knowingly. “Have you told them? Maybe they could tone it down”

“I don’t think they care enough to do that. I doubt they have even noticed I’m not there”, Ben swallowed, eyes fixed on the horizon.

Rey didn’t know what to say. She saw a silent tear roll on Ben’s cheek and how he wiped it fast with his hand. Rey put the book aside carefully -over her bag so it wouldn’t rest on the grass- and crawled to him, hugging him from behind clumsily, wrapping her tiny arms around his frame, trying to go around him but clearly not succeeding, since he was bigger than her.

She noticed the wind had shifted around them, in cold, rapid waves.

“I’m fine”. His voice cracked.

Rey just held him tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to my great grandma, who passed away a few days ago (this chapter was written before she died). I hope you love it as much as I do  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> As always, a special thank you to Olivia for being my beta
> 
> Let's go

_“Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting”_

_Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles_

One week later, Rey and Rose entered their room, each carrying a pile of clothes taller than their heads. They set the clothes down by their beds and started folding them like Maz had asked them to do, while the other kids did their chores.

“Okay, but you have to admit it. He had it coming.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s okay to attack people, Rey.”

“He called you something awful, Rose. You should’ve been the one to break his nose, not me.”

Rose shrugged. “I didn’t want any trouble.”

Rey paired two unicorn socks and folded them, adding the fabric ball to Rose’s pile of clothes. “Don’t let anyone call you that. Ever.”

Rose smiled. “You sound like my sister.”

“You have a sister?”

“Yeah. Paige. She’s older than me.”

Rey paused for a second and frowned, folding one of her black jeans. “Then why are you here?”

She realized a second too late that her question was out of line when she saw Rose’s face. “Rose, I didn’t-“

“No, it’s okay. I’d be curious too”. Rose bit her lip before she continued, while she left a t-shirt on Tommy’s pile. “Paige works a lot so she thought that if I stayed with her I’d be alone most of the time. And I think my parents were friends with Maz before they died, so Paige asked her to take care of me. I still see her sometimes, but she’s very busy.”

Rey nodded silently.

Rose eyed her. “Speaking of being alone, where do you go all afternoons?”

Rey blushed. “I just walk around”, said, eyes fixed on the sheets she was folding.

“Uh-huh. You wouldn’t happen to walk around with the Solo guy, right?”

Rey frowned and defiantly raised her chin. “And what if I did?”

Rose chuckled. “You don’t need to go all defensive on me, Rey. I won’t say anything, I just wanted to know if you are okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I? And how do you know him?”

“I was bored when I got here so I took a walk around. I saw someone reading near the playground, asked him his name and what he was reading. And he told me to mind my own business! He was a complete jerk, so I decided to just stay at home and play with the other kids here.”

Rey laughed. “Why didn’t you just tell him to shut up?”

Rose looked shocked. She then shrugged, folding Rey’s black socks. “Maz says that just because someone is an idiot with me doesn’t mean that I have to lower myself at his level.”

Rey contained a smile. “He’s not all bad, really”

Rose looked doubtful.

“Honestly, if you knew him a little more..”

Rose rolled her eyes and smiled. “Whatever you say. You get to know him, I’ll focus on making friends with _kind_ people.”

Rey chuckled and added a skirt on Rose’s pile, thinking about the schoolboy bloody nose. “Do you think Maz will ground me?”

“If she does I’ll tell her that idiot attacked you first.”

The girls smiled knowingly at each other.

-o-

A few days later, Rey tried to focus on her English homework, but she kept getting distracted thinking about the last chapter of the book she had read with Ben, especially the forest with Pools to travel to other worlds. It reminded her of the little park. She smiled and grabbed her notebook from her bag under the dining room’s chair she was sitting, writing it down so she could tell Ben next time.

“Rey?”

She looked up Maz’s voice coming from the kitchen door. The old lady smiled and walked towards her, drying her hands with a kitchen cloth.

“I was thinking, Saturday is Rose’s birthday. What if we bake a cake? I can go fetch ingredients now.”

Rey smiled. “She would love that.”

Maz’s eye wrinkles deepened. “I’m thinking of carrot cake.” She looked at Rey’s textbook. “Finish your homework while I’m out, child.”

Rey nodded and grabbed her pencil while Maz headed out.

“That’s great. Crack 3 eggs on this bowl now. Make sure there are no eggshells in it, please”

Rey did as told with a wide grin. She had never cooked something so special before and she was loving it. The precise instructions, seeing how ingredients changed when added together, the warmth coming from the preheated oven.

Rey handed the bowl to Maz, but she shook her head and pointed at the stand-up mixer, already whisking the previous ingredients. Rey dropped the eggs inside carefully and watched hypnotized through the glass bowl how they incorporated into the batter.

Maz’s voice startled her. “Can you hand me the powdered sugar, please? It’s on the upper shelf.”

Rey nodded while Maz added the flour they had previously shifted into the bowl. She frowned looking up. _It was too high._ She grabbed a chair and stood up in it, but her hand couldn’t quite reach it, her fingers mere centimeters from the jar. Rey put her feet on point and tried to extend her fingers a little more. She could almost grab it. With a grunt, she stretched a little further. _If she could just extend her fingers a little more…_

With horror, Rey saw the jar’s lid burst wide open, covering the kitchen in a white powdered mess. She started coughing and lost her balance over the chair.

“REY!”

She heard Maz’s voice and felt her hands on her back.

_What had she done? Maz was going to kick her out, she would have to go, she-_

“Honey, are you okay? What happened?”

Rey looked at her with confused wide eyes. The noise of the mixer still whisking brought her back to reality. She cleared her throat.

“The lid..”

“Was it open?”

Rey nodded. She looked at Maz’s clothes and hair, covered in white dust. “I’m sorry.”

Maz rubbed her back. “You’re okay, that’s the important thing.”

“I can help clean-“

“Actually, I’d rather if you go to the storage shed outside. I’m sure I have more sugar there, on the lower shelf. Go get it while I clean this up.”

Rey looked at her. After a small pause, she walked outside towards the shed crossing the backyard. Some kids, Tommy and Fran, were playing with chalk on the small pavement rectangle beside the house. When she reached the storage unit door, Rey hesitated. _She wasn’t going to lock her in, was she?_ Rey looked around. Nothing out of the normal.

She got inside quickly, located the jar, grabbed it, and walked away fast. Tommy and Fran were still playing, without looking at her. Rey exhaled and walked into the kitchen through the back door.

She examined the kitchen with a confused frown. Everything was clean. More than clean, pristine. Maz was adding the shredded carrots into the batter in the mixer, her clothes and hair impeccable as always. 

“How did you-“

“Did you find it?” Maz looked at the jar in her hands. “Great.” She stopped the mixer and grabbed the glass bowl. “We’ll make the frosting once the cake is done and cool”

Maz turned around to get the baking pans and Rey left the recipient on the counter. There wasn’t a broom in sight.

Maz passed her a plastic spatula and the small bowl where they had left chopped nuts, gesticulating Rey to mix them in the batter in a folding motion. She imitated her and smiled looking at the result.

“Okay, now we fill the molds”. Maz held the heavy glass bowl while Rey scrapped the batter from the sides of it, carefully making sure they were all even. They placed them in the oven.

Rey looked at the pans inside the oven with impatient eyes. Maz hid a smile looking at the eager kid. “Did you finish your homework?”

“Yes”

“ _All_ of it? From all subjects?”

Rey didn’t answer.

Maz tried to adopt a severe tone. “We have a deal, Rey. You get all other afternoon’s free as long as you save one for homework”. The girl frowned but didn’t move. Maz softened her voice. “This is going to take a while either way. If you do it quickly you can frost the cake with me.”

Rey sighed and dragged her feet to the dining room. She could’ve asked Rose for her homework, but she had been invited to a friend’s house. Rey chewed her cheek and fetched her Math textbook from her bag while she sat down at the table.

Maz eyed the cake on the plate, checking it was completely smooth. Once she was satisfied, she placed the full piping bag on Rey’s hands.

“You can make small circles of buttercream on top, or whatever you want.” She grabbed a stool so Rey could kneel in it and be more comfortable over the cake.

Rey held the piping bag in her hands for a second, nibbling her lower lip. This was very important, if she made any mistake it would show. Maz’s hand rested on her shoulder. “You won’t mess up, Rey.”

Rey swallowed and started piping small roses on the top surface of the cake with trembly hands. Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled as she watched the frosting curving perfectly at her will. It was easier than she thought.

Once she considered it done, Rey placed the empty piping bag on the counter. Maz looked at her with a proud smile. “What do you think?”

Rey looked at the cake with critical eyes. “More nuts on the top.”

Maz chuckled and passed her the bowl. “Go for it”

Rey looked at it with a mischievous smile grabbing small fistfuls of nuts and placing them on top, in the small circle surrounded by buttercream roses and on the lower edges of the cake, very carefully. Maz was placing the dirty dishes on the dishwasher and grinned when she saw Rey with her hands on her hips, evaluating her work.

“That looks fantastic. Rose will love it.”

Rey nodded and smiled looking at her masterpiece.

“Is this your first time baking?”

Rey looked at her beaming.

“You did great, my child.”

Rey grinned and Maz placed the cake inside the refrigerator with infinite care, humming. “We can do it anytime you want, you know?”

Rey looked at the old lady’s back. “Thank you, Maz.”

She grunted, making a gesture with her hand as if to say, _don’t mention it._

-o-

On Saturday afternoon, Rey sat with Rose at the dining table with the rest of the kids and Paige, who had come to visit her sister. She was 20-ish, fun, and clumsy. Rey had loved her immediately.

The small room was decorated with balloons and cardboard colorful hats. Everyone was sipping their own cup of hot chocolate while they played. Rose had asked them to play Clue with her, especially Rey, and she had decided to make an exception since it was her birthday.

She was having way more fun than she expected, writing on a little pad her suspicions on the other players.

“Okay, time for cake”. Maz announced from the kitchen. “Paige, be a dear and help me.”

She stood up, winking at them, and walked into the kitchen with Maz. Rey smiled at Rose, she couldn’t wait to see her excitement when she saw the cake.

Paige and Maz walked out of the kitchen, each one carrying a cake. Paige was holding Rose’s carrot cake but Maz was walking towards Rey with something that looked like the most scrumptious, delicious chocolate cake Rey had ever seen.

Maz placed it in front of Rey and Paige placed Rose’s in front of her. They both had ten lightened candles on top of them. The other kids gasped and clapped enthusiastically.

Rey felt her throat tighten. She looked at Maz, asking silently if she had made this for her. Maz nodded in silent communication. Rey felt Rose’s hands in hers and she smiled at her.

“All together now,” Maz ordered.

Everyone inhaled before starting to sing.

_“Happy Birthday, Rey and Rose..”_

-o-

“And she pulls this GIANT chocolate cake out of the kitchen”

“Wait, like the _Matilda_ one?”

Rey thought about it for a moment. “Better”, she decided.

Ben chuckled, shaking his head unbelievably, with his arms crossed behind his head, laying on the grass. “That’s hard to believe, Niima.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to.”

Rey retrieved a fork and a plastic container from her bag, extending it in front of Ben’s nose.

“Woah. You got it for me?”. He quickly sat and grabbed everything from Rey’s hands.

“Now don’t go all mushy on me, Solo. It’s just cake”, she laughed.

Ben opened the container and looked at the two slices in it, one chocolate, one carrot cake. He took a bite at the chocolate one and munched. Then he grabbed a chunk of the carrot cake and closed his eyes, humming happily. Rey opened her mouth to say something but he lifted a finger, indicating her to shut it until he was done with his verdict. He swallowed.

“The chocolate one is amazing, but the carrot cake… this is some serious gourmet food right here.”

She laughed “I helped to make that one.”

Ben nodded in approval, taking another bite of it.

Rey exhaled. _She needed to tell him_. “Something happened while we were baking. Maz asked me to grab something that I couldn’t reach. I tried a few times, but I couldn’t grasp it. And then the lid popped open and there was powdered sugar everywhere. It’s so frustrating, to keep this having this, this-”

Ben looked at her. “We’ll keep practicing. But you need to be more patient.” He closed the lid of the now-empty Tupper and passed it to her.

“I don’t think _my_ patience with _you_ is the problem, Solo. ”

Ben huffed. “No, _you_ need to be more patient with _yourself_. Let’s give it another try now, okay?”

Rey nodded and he stood up.

-o-

“Wait, hold on.”

Rey stopped her finger that was about to turn the page. They were reading silently side by side, like they did most of the time, stopping to comment on what they had just read or when Ben needed a little more time to finish reading the page. Other times Rey read out loud while Ben laid on the grass, eating clementines with his eyes closed. He said he could picture what was going on in the story better that way.

They had been reading some books Ben had already read, but others -like this one- were new to both.

“Again, Solo? You’re the slowest reader ever, I swear.” She teased, rolling her eyes and gesturing dramatically with one hand.

“It’s not that”, he scuffed, offended. “It’s this”. He pointed at a paragraph with his finger, barely touching Rey’s. She blushed.

“I think it’s meant to be symbolism. Aslan represents God and the world has to be Heaven or something.”

Rey thought for a moment. “So the Queen, Digory, Polly, and everyone else died in the street?”

“Exactly, exactly.”

“Huh”. Rey looked at the grass beneath her crossed legs.

“What?”

“I don’t know. Guess I haven’t thought about that in some time.” Rey watched a little bug climbing a leaf with effort.

“Death?”

Rey nodded. The bug reached it’s destiny and spread it’s red wings, flying away.

“What do you think about it? God? Heaven? What happens after we’re gone?”

Rey considered it for a second. “Mm. I don’t really believe in that bearded man they teach us at school. I don’t think there’s someone watching every single thing I do, say or think, taking notes on all that.”. She paused. “But I do think there’s something else. Call it the universe, higher power, energy, whatever you like. How can I not believe in something else when we can do magic?”. She smiled at him.

Ben smiled back.

“What about you? God and all? Do wizards even believe in God?”

Ben hummed. “I don’t know. I can only speak for myself but yeah, I agree. I think there’s something that binds us all together. Energy, magic, force. I don’t think the name matters.”

He toyed with the sleeves of his gray hoodie. “As for the heaven part. I don’t think we really go somewhere, you know? I’d like to believe that the ones that love us never really leave us. We carry them with us.”

Rey felt her throat tighten. “Maybe no one’s ever really gone.”

She noticed he was looking at her with curious eyes, clearly wanting her to keep talking but not wanting to push. Rey cleared her throat.

“I didn’t meet my father. Or if I did I was very little and I don’t remember him.”

She paused for a second, licking her bottom lip. Ben was very still looking at her, not daring to move a muscle.

“I don’t remember much of my mum. I remember her laugh, her voice. I think she liked to sing to me.” Rey smiled sadly, staring at the tiny waves on the water surface. Sometimes she dreamt about her mum’s voice cooing her to sleep, but she didn’t tell Ben. She didn’t want him to feel pity for her.

Ben’s voice was soft and careful. “What happened to her?”

“She died when I was little.” Rey swallowed, remembering the red and blue lights, the sirens, how all the windows from the small house shattered when the paramedic tried to separate her from the body on the floor. _Mommy was so cold_.

Rey cleared her throat again. “I think they said it was something with her heart. So after that, I was put in the system, passed through a lot of foster homes. Some were not so bad, one was good. Others were really bad. Didn’t stay long in any because I caused… accidents”.

Recognition glimmered in Ben’s eyes. “Maz didn’t do anything when you did that thing with the jar, right?”

Rey stared in confusion at Ben’s concerned face. “No, no. She thought I dropped it or something.” She paused. “I never asked you how you know her.”

“I think my mom and her were friends before. She used to come over all the time when I was little before mom started teaching at Hogwarts.”

“That’s weird,” Rey muttered.

Ben shrugged. “I mean, they are neighbors so maybe not so much.”

She nodded absently.

“Rey?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for telling me.”

She looked at Ben. He seemed conflicted, trying to decide to do something or not. What was it, she didn’t know. She gave him a small smile and he seemed to relax.

“Thank you for listening. Now, can we keep going? I want to see what happens to Polly.”

-o-

Rey’s soft voice accompanied Saturday’s early afternoon.

She cleared her throat.

_“It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,” said the Queen presently. “What would you like best to eat?”_

_“Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty,” said Edmund._

_The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with a green silk ribbon, which, when opened turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious._

She stopped and smiled for a second, raising her eyes from the book on her knees she was reading out loud to Ben’s eyes-closed face. “This is so cool.”

He opened one eye. “What? The candy?”

“I mean, yeah. But I meant the magic potion thing. Is there anything like that in the wizarding world?”

Ben considered it. “I don’t think so. I mean, we use wands for almost everything. And I’m pretty sure you can’t make food appear out of nowhere.”

Rey was about to ask about potions when Ben’s stomach roared loudly. His ears turned red and Rey laughed.

“Sorry, didn’t have lunch.”

“Me neither.”

“Why not?”

“Maz made something with cauliflower.” Rey wrinkled her nose. “Smelled bad, tasted worse.”

Ben laughed. He looked at her and opened his mouth but then closed it again.

“Spit it out, Solo.”

He seemed to struggle with words. “Do you- do you want to come to my house? I’ve been wanting to show you something.”

Rey hesitated for a second. _Ben was hungry_ … _and so was she._ “Sure.”

They gathered their stuff and silently walked towards the pavement. She was nervous, wondering if Ben’s parents would be there. He seemed anxious too, which was weird considering it was his house.

They walked in silence until Ben stopped in front of the biggest house in the neighborhood. Ivy-covered red bricks and a little front yard with dark-green-neatly-cut grass, surrounding a little pebble road that ended on the street pavement.

Rey couldn’t stop staring. “It’s beautiful.”

Ben shrugged. “It’s just a house.”

He walked towards the heavy dark-wood front door and Rey followed him, suddenly feeling insecure about her short jeans overalls and worn red shoes as they climbed the pavement steps before the door.

Ben opened it for her, revealing a beautiful wood hall, with a small table on one wall, and a burgundy jacket on a coat hanger. Rey politely cleaned her shoes on the rug outside before entering and looked at everything with wide eyes. It was so elegant. So silent. Not a fly, no laughs from other kids playing in the backyard. Dead silent.

“Mom?” Ben called, closing the door behind him.

Rey heard steps coming towards them and an elegant woman appeared, with her hair fixed on a series of elaborate braids. She was checking something on her purse, clearly heading out.

“Hello, darling.” The woman gave a warm smile at Rey and winked at Ben. Rey noticed she had the exact same eyes as him.

“Mom, this is-“

“You must be Rey.”The girl nodded.

“I’m Leia, Ben’s mom. Speaking of which.” She turned to face Ben. “I’m going out to get your birthday present. You said brown, right?”

Ben smiled. “Yeah, but I don’t really mind as long as it’s a really smart one.”

Leia nodded and kissed Ben’s forehead before she grabbed the coat hanging on the wall, smiling.

“Is dad home?”

Leia’s smile froze. “I think he had something to do with uncle Lando. He said he would be back before dinner but you know what that means. Which reminds me, Lyra left food on the stove and baked the cake you asked for. It’s all in the kitchen. Remember to share with Rey.” Leia eyed him a look that tried to be severe, closing the gold buttons of her long burgundy coat.

Ben nodded and Leia opened the front door. She turned around before leaving and smiled at them. “Nice to meet you, Rey.” The girl half smiled at her and nodded. Leia closed the front door behind her and the house went back to its previous state: absolutely quiet and still.

Rey looked at Ben, who still had his eyes on the front door, and understood a lot of things.

Ben’s stomach growled and he shook his head. “Cake or lunch, Niima?” he asked her.

“Do you even have to ask, Solo?”

He laughed and Rey followed him through a hallway into a big kitchen with tall furniture. Sparkly clean.

There were pots in the stove, but Ben walked directly to a very neat looking cake on a counter. He grabbed two plates from a shelf and started cutting it. Carrot cake, Rey noticed. She nibbled her lower lip. _She had to address the elephant in the room._

“So. You decide to spend the day reading with me on your birthday?”

Ben scoffed. “Not like I have anything better to do, Niima.” He extended her a plate with a giant portion.

Rey grinned and accepted it. “Well, okay, birthday jerk. I feel a little better now for not getting you a present.” She teased.

Ben smiled, sitting next to her on the kitchen’s island, and started attacking his cake.

“Wait, no, this is not okay.”

Ben spoke with his mouth full. “Yeah, I mean, yours was better, but-“

“Not that. Stop eating.” Rey jumped off the high stool she was sitting on and looked around, feeling Ben’s eyes on her back. She considered looking into the cabinets, she knew he wouldn’t mind. However, it wasn’t necessary. Rey saw what she was looking for on a corner of the counter, probably left by someone who thought they would come in handy.

She grabbed the little box and shook it in the air in victory.

Ben whined. “No, c’mon, Niima.”

“I won’t sing, I promise, but the universal laws say you can’t have birthday cake without blowing a candle and making a wish.”

Ben neared his eyelids. “Fine. But if you start to sing I’ll eat your cake too.”

Rey’s eyes shone with defiance. “Try. See how well that goes for you.”

Ben chuckled and Rey placed eleven wax sticks on his giant portion of the cake. She looked at them for a second, considering something. Ben seemed to guess it, because he extended a hand in the air, above the candles.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly passed his hand over them. Rey gasped as they lit up one by one. He smiled with his eyes closed, opening them once they were all lit.

Rey stared at the little flames and frowned when they went out with a sudden move from Ben’s hand.

“Now you.”

Rey looked at him nervously. _She could burn the house down perfectly well_ _if she wasn’t careful_.

Ben seemed to know what she was thinking again.

“I trust you.”

Rey met Ben’s eyes, so similar to hers, and nodded. She mimicked Ben’s movements and focused on the way magic passed through her, not the insecurities and fear that always tried to meddle in.

One by one, she could feel the heat underneath her palm and smiled to herself. Once she was done, she opened her eyes and exhaled with relief.

Ben’s eyes were staring at her with pride, joy, and something else Rey couldn’t define. She blushed and tucked her baby hairs behind her ear.

“Make a wish.”

He kept looking at her. He didn’t say anything, but Rey saw when he decided what he would wish for.

Ben blew the candles.

After they ate half the colossal carrot cake, he showed her around the house. It was beautiful, all wood and burgundy, but it felt so empty. So quiet. She had wondered why Ben went to the park to read if he had the whole house to himself but she understood he probably felt horribly lonely in that great house.

“Mind if I put on some music?” Ben asked.

Rey laughed. “It’s your house, Solo”

He muttered something that contained the word “guest” and walked into the living room, where a huge wood vinyl record player occupied the main place. Ben examined a wall filled with records.

Rey sat on a couch and looked around, noticing the walls were completely empty. No photographs. As if no one really lived there.

“Ben?”

He was backward to her, choosing a disc. “Yeah?”

“Who 's Lyra?”

“Oh, she’s the house-elf.”

“What’s a house-elf?”

“She’s like… a maid? I guess. She keeps the house clean, cooks. Takes care of the house in general.”

Rey frowned. “Aren’t there spells for that?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. But even if there were, it doesn't really matter if there’s no one to cast them, right?” He said bitterly.

Rey chewed her lip and didn’t answer. She looked at a white rectangle sitting on the coffee table while Ben placed the vinyl record on the player. It had Ben’s name on it and a symbol she remembered he had it described it to her as Hogwarts’s.

“What’s this?”. She picked the envelope up.

Ben looked at what Rey was holding. “Just my letter.”

Rey gasped. “ _The_ letter? Can I read it?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

Rey read it fast, her lips unconsciously moving as she did while soft music started playing. She read it once. And then again. Her eyes kept fixating on the date they were asking Ben to be there.

Next week.

_So soon._

Rey felt her enthusiasm dry out as she took in that Ben would leave in a matter of days. _She wondered if he would forget her._

“Rey? Everything okay?”

She blinked a few times and shook her head, forcing out a smile. “This is so cool. You must be excited.” She handed the letter to him.

Ben’s expression was miles away from that. He received it and put it back on the table, closing it. “Right.”

Rey hesitated for a minute while Ben seemed focused on staring at the carpet. “Is that what you wanted to show me?”

“What? Oh. No, no, no.” He shook his head and a huge grin filled his face. “Come.” He gestured to her.

Rey followed him with curious eyes, the music accompanying their steps down the hallway. “I like the song.” She muttered.

Ben half smiled at her. “The Beatles. My mom likes them too.”

He stopped in front of a dark wooden door, with intricate flower designs on the edges. It seemed older than the rest of the house. Ben placed a hand on the handle and paused. “It’s my favorite room.”

He opened the door and Rey’s jaw dropped. Tall shelves with books from floor to ceiling, of all shapes and colors. There was a marble chimenea in one corner of the room, next to very-comfortable-looking chairs. The windows looked at the back yard, almost covered with heavy velvet red curtains. It almost seemed out of place to have a room that big and luxurious just to keep books in it.

Rey looked at Ben, who was looking at her as if he was waiting for her to say something. She smiled at him. “Do you think we’ll ever read all these books?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, guess it depends on how much you slow us down.” She pushed his shoulder and he laughed.

They walked in front of the wall shelves and Ben made comments as they passed.

“This was one of the first books I’ve ever read alone… That’s one of my mom’s favorites… One time I fell here and had a giant bruise on my head..”

Rey laughed. “How did you begin liking reading?”

Ben thought for a moment. “Probably my mom got me into it. She used to read me a book before bed when I was little. Hmm. I think it’s here somewhere”.

He searched in a lower shelf and grabbed an old, grey covered book, extending it to her. She caressed the cover with her thumb. She read the title out loud “ _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ ”.

Ben smiled. “Yeah, they’re pretty cool. My favorite is the story of the three brothers. I can lend it to you sometime if you want, or we can read it together”, he shrugged.

Rey nodded silently and gave him the book back. He placed it back on the shelf. Rey examined the titles of the books.

“Are they all muggle books?”

“No”. Ben shook his head. “Most are magical. I’d say 70% magic, 30% muggle.”

Rey noticed there weren't any stairs or anything to reach the higher books. She commented on it to Ben. 

He looked up and smiled. “We don't need them. Here was the first place I made magic, according to dad. He said I was trying to reach for a book and levitated 6 feet up. Mom started screaming, terrified.” He chuckled.

They left the room and Rey could hear the music again. Apparently, the library was soundproof, muting the outside noise.

“What about your room?” she asked as he closed the library’s door.

“Upstairs.”

They climbed the stairs and Rey asked. “What did your mom go to get? A brown thing?”

Rey was bewildered as Ben’s face went red, but he tried to play it cool. “I asked for an owl. I thought it would be useful.” He shrugged.

Rey was confused but didn’t ask.

They reached the second floor and he gestured with one hand. “My parent’s bedroom, mom’s office, and bathroom”. He pointed to the opposite side. “My room.” They walked towards it and Ben opened the door.

It was a bit more personal. She noticed it had less red than the rest of the house. More beige. She looked around. A small bed with a nightstand, a closet, a wooden desk, one tall shelf filled with books, a dusty guitar on a corner, something that looked like little dragon skeletons hanging off the ceiling, and a poster on the wall. They were a quidditch team, she assumed since they were all holding brooms. The boys in the cover waved at her.

She gasped. “It moves!”

Ben laughed. “Yeah, photographs do as well.”

“Are you going to try to get into your house quidditch team when you get to Hogwarts?”

“I would but only 2nd years and older can. Plus, I don’t know if..”

“If what?” She turned around to face him.

“What if I don’t get in, Rey?”

She was confused. “Well, you can always try again, I guess? As long as it’s what you want. You have like five opp-“

Ben sat on the desk’s chair and Rey mimicked him on the edge of his bed, a foot away from him. “I’m not talking about quidditch.”

Rey looked into his troubled eyes and understood. All the red.

“You’re worried about not getting sorted into Gryffindor.” She said softly.

He nodded, staring at the hardwood floors.

She considered it for a minute, trying to sound as comforting as she could. “Would that really be that bad? I mean, from what you told me, all houses are unique and special in their own way.”

Ben shook his head. “It’s not that. I’d be happy to be in any house. It’s my parents. Almost my whole family comes from a line of Gryffindor’s, from both sides. I know I’m expected to be sorted there. Mom used to take to events when I was little and showed me around to people as the next fine addition to Gryffindor’s house. You should’ve heard her talking when I got the letter this morning. I don’t know how they would react if they-“

“If anyone reacts with anything other than happiness and pride they’re idiots, Ben.”

He chuckled and smiled at her.

“I mean it. I don’t want to be rude, but all that Gryffindor pride is bullshit. If anyone has a problem with your house, whichever it is, you can send them my way.” She slammed one of her fists into her palm softly.

His grin grew wider. “What the hell have you been doing in your free time, Niima?”

She smiled mischievously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they were listening to was Here Comes The Sun in case you were wondering
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thank you to Danica and LadyBex for beta-ing this week's chapter!
> 
> In this chapter Ben is going to Hogwarts. Are we ready for the not-so-surprising House reveal? I couldn't help myself and I made two little manips (at the end of the chapter)
> 
> Let's go

__

_Ben was late_. Rey tapped her fingers over her crossed legs impatiently. He said he was getting Hogwart’s supplies today but that he would be back before dusk so they could continue practicing magic.

She wouldn’t normally mind, but their evenings together were numbered.

Just a few precious days.

Rey sighed looking at the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains. _Maybe she could practice alone while she waited_. She had never attempted it on her own, but she wouldn’t have a choice from now on. Ben had told her he would be back for Christmas, but she didn’t want to wait for his return to keep practicing. With each time she practiced, Rey felt a little less scared of herself.

Still, she was nervous. The last time had gone fine; she hadn’t burned the house down. _But that didn’t mean that it would go well every time from now on, did it?_

Rey looked around again. _No sign of Ben yet._ She shuddered when a cold breeze played with the little hairs on her neck.

_Just a warm-up._

She sat in the cool grass, leaning against the tree trunk, and closed her eyes. Her chest rose as she inhaled and fell as she exhaled deeply, clearing her head and focusing on her senses, as Ben had taught her. Rey counted ten deep breaths before she felt _it_ all around her. The little bugs buzzing in the dirt, the wind playing with the yellowish tree leaves, birds tucking their broods to sleep.

And, twirling in her fingers, sparkly, bright magic. Rey inhaled carefully and smiled. _Oh, there were so many things she could do._

She wondered if she could direct it to something specific, like the pond. Nothing aggressive, maybe a few waves. Rey extended both hands in the air, trying to direct the golden shimmering mirage to perform as she wanted.

But the energy resisted leaving her palms. She frowned, trying to make it bend to her will. For a moment, it seemed to have worked. Rey twirled her hands in the air, trying to shift the water, to defy gravity.

“REY!”

The scream startled her and magic flowed violently through her, altering a series of things around her. She opened her eyes to a still wall of water twice her height towering in front of her. Branches snapped over her head and the violent cold wind pushed the baby hairs out of her face. But none of these things scared her as much as what was standing in front of her.

Ben. His eyes blown wide open, filled with fear.

_Was he afraid… of her?_

Everything went still for a moment.

The sudden loud sound of a branch cracking right above Ben’s head alerted Rey but his eyes were fixated only on her. Ben opened his mouth to scream a warning at her about the wall of water and moved a hand forward but all her senses were focused on the now fast falling branch.

Rey stood up, turning her hands towards Ben, causing the ice-cold wall of water to come crashing over her. Nearly suffocating under the sheer weight of it, Rey opened her eyes, determined but shaky dripping arms extended in front of her still, and blinked in desperation, trying to clear her vision. _Ben, Ben, Ben._

Ben was standing in the same spot, eyes just as wide as before, but now filled with shock looking up. The tree branch was hanging suspended in the air, a few feet over his head.

Rey exhaled in relief, but the danger was still there. She inhaled, slowly lowering her hands and the branch followed. She guided it away from them, gently laying it on the ground under the shadow of the tree.

Ben looked at her intensely, pride glimmering in his hazels, not even a hint of fear towards her.

Rey couldn’t help it. She ran towards him and tangled her arms around his neck, hugging him without a care in the world even though she was soaking wet. He hugged her back even tighter, wrapping his arms around her frame and snuggling his face into the crook of her neck.

They stayed like that for a moment until Rey’s teeth started clacking together.

Ben moved to react, letting her go but still holding onto her shoulders, sudden fury in his eyes.

“What the hell were you doing?! I leave for a few hours and the first thing I come back to is you trying to- to what!? Drown yourself with all that water over your head!? You can’t just-”

Rey shrugged his hands off her shoulders as anger clouded her vision. She lifted a finger and pointed at his chest. “I WAS P-PERFECTLY F-FINE UNT-TIL YOU SCARED ME T-TO DEATH SCREAMING, S-SOLO.”

Ben’s anger was quickly replaced by concern seeing how her entire body trembled. 

“Jesus, Niima. You’re soaked. C’mon, you need to go home and have a warm shower. It’s late anyway.”

“N-no, n-no, t-tell me ab-bout-t D-Diagon Alley.”

He looked at her stubborn arms crossed over her chest. Rey noticed that his sneakers and calves of his jeans were soaked, as well as the t-shirt he was wearing underneath his open flannel shirt and black jacket, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Fine. But two conditions. One, you explain to me what you were trying to do with the water. Two,” he removed the jacket from his shoulders and offered it to her “please. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

Rey accepted it, covering her overalls with the warm jacket.

“Let’s go. I’ll tell you as we walk.” He gestured towards the street.

She followed, trembling less, and stared at him, waiting.

“We went to get the books, robes, cauldrons, and stuff for potions first. The wand shop was full when we got there so mum said it would be best if we went for that last. A lot of people stopped us to get a picture with her.”

Ben cleared his throat. “So um we got all the other things and finally, we got the wand. And something weird happened.”

“What?”

He frowned his lips for a moment. “I tried many wands. Like so many, mum started to worry but the shop owner, Ollivander, told her not to, that we would find the right one, we just had to be patient. And we eventually got to one. I thought they would be happy since we had been at the shop for hours. And they were, for a moment, especially mom. And then she asked Ollivander about the wand. He said it was willow, 13-inches, rigid. And that the core was thestral hair.”

“T-thestral?”

“Yeah. He said that and they looked at each other super weird and stayed quiet for a moment. Then mom rushed us to go and didn’t answer any questions when we got here, she locked herself in her studio. I came here as soon as we got here .”

“I don’t get it-t” Rey said.

“Well, wands normally have a unicorn hair or a dragon heart core. I’ve never heard of anyone who had a thestral hair core.”

“N-no, n-no. What’s a t-thestral?”

They stopped in front of Maz’s house, Rey still had her arms crossed over her chest, trying her best to stop shaking, but the cold night wind against her bare legs wasn’t helping.

“They are like.. horses? But creepier. And they can fly. I’ve only seen drawings. I don’t know if I’ll ever see one because only people who have seen death can.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I think I’ll ask mom when she stops being so weird about it. I don’t know.” He shrugged.

Rey took his jacket off and passed it to him.

“Ab-bout the water thing-“

“Tomorrow. And I’ll show you all the stuff that I got.”

She nodded, smiling at him, and walked towards Maz’s front door. Rey turned her head and stared at the boy in the soaked sneakers walking away down the street. 

She noticed that Ben didn’t have a curfew - like her, he never seemed too eager or worried to get back to his house when it was getting late.

-o-

“There’s something else I want to show you.”

“What is it?”

Ben smiled at her and whistled a four-note melody as he stuck out his arm. Rey looked at him curiously and gasped when she heard -and then saw- a big brown pair of wings flying towards them.

The owl placed its claws on Ben’s arm and he giggled seeing Rey’s fascinated expression.

The bird was majestic and fondly rubbed its head against Ben’s neck. He laughed and petted its feathery head. Rey smiled.

“Niima, Chewie. Chewie, Niima.”

“Chewie?”

“Yeah. My mom told me that the lady at the pet store called him that after she saw him trying to chew on all the furniture. He did it all the time, vying for attention, in the end being fed more than the other birds to be kept at bay.”

Rey laughed. “Smart.”

“Yep. I was thinking we can still keep in touch through letters while I’m away. Chewie will deliver mine to you wherever you are and bring your letters back to me. I wanted you to meet him before I’m gone.”

Rey’s chest was warm. _He definitely wasn’t forgetting her_. She extended a shy hand and Chewie looked at her for a moment before he left Ben’s arm and walked in the grass towards her, lowering his head and letting her pet him. She smiled.

“How? Maz and Rose will freak out if they see him.”

Ben grabbed fruit from Rey’s bag.“Don’t worry, he knows that he can only show up if you’re alone. I told him that he has to give my letter to you, wait for your response and deliver it back to me.”

Rey smiled. _It could work._

“What if I take a while in writing back?”

Ben shrugged and looked at Chewie picking the dirt to find worms. “I think he can keep himself busy.”

She smiled at the bird and petted its head’s soft feathers.

“Rey, there’s.. something else.”

She looked at him, worried about the change in his voice. He wasn’t looking at her.

“My mom told me she was asked to step up as Headmaster. Apparently, it was big news and that’s why so many people asked her for a picture. She said that she didn’t tell me before so I wouldn’t get upset.” He finished peeling the fruit.

“Guess she realized she couldn’t keep the secret much longer. It was going to be pretty obvious when I got to Hogwarts.” He smiled bitterly and munched half the clementine. Chewie looked at him with yellow curious eyes and Ben offered him a small piece.

“Why would you be upset? What’s the difference between her being Gryffindor’s Head and Hogwart’s Headmaster?”

“That’s the thing. There isn’t much. She said she would be much busier now, that she had decided to live permanently at Hogwarts.”

Rey bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say.

“I’m sorry, Ben.”

He shrugged but Rey saw out of the corner of her eye waves forming on the pond’s surface, growing bigger with each word out of Ben’s mouth. Chewie seemed to react as well, rubbing its head against Ben’s arm while he ate. “It’s not like she was living here anyway.”

Rey placed a hand on his shoulder and she saw the waves slowly halt until the surface was peaceful again.

He cleared his throat and she dropped her hand.

“I asked my parents something, though.”

“What?”

“Well, since I’m not going to be around to keep culturizing you, I asked them to give you a free pass to our library. I made a list of books I’ve already read and separated them from the other shelves so you can find them easily.”

Rey hadn’t even considered it. No Ben meant no books. She nibbled her lip.

“I was thinking about our notebooks. Maybe you could write in yours, things you like about the books or any questions and add them to the letters. That way we can still -kinda- read together.”

“I’d love to but I don’t want to bother-“

“It’s settled then.”

She rolled her eyes and noticed Ben was looking at the sunset while he chewed.

“Worried about tomorrow’s ceremony?”

“No.”

The lie was blatantly obvious, but she decided not to comment on it. As Rey petted Chewie’s head and Ben peeled another clementine, they watched the orange sun disappear.

-o-

Rey smiled, folding the letter and putting it back in the envelope as she walked. That was the 7th time she read it.

Chewie had waited until Rey wrote an answer and picked her fingers when he noticed it wasn’t long. She suspected Ben had told him to do that. Rey didn’t write much since she hadn’t started the book yet, but she asked him about the common room, the feast, and the castle.

He hadn’t answered yet, but Rey wanted to have read the next book before Chewie returned with Ben’s reply so she could have a well thought out review for her next letter. She reached her destination and put one hand on the tree, staring at the tiny waves forming on the blue surface of the pond. She sighed and shook her head, shrugging the backpack from her back and sitting down.

Rey grabbed the book from her bag carefully, caressing the hardcover with tremulous fingers. Ben said this was one of his favorites sagas and she was determined to find out why.

Rey sat with her legs crossed on the grass, sitting back against the trunk. Ben had made it his mission to lend her books so they could discuss them afterward very seriously. He’d never said it, but Rey knew he was lonely and eager to talk with someone, anyone, about them. 

She missed him so much.

Of course, they’d agreed to write to each other every week, but it wasn’t the same. Deep down, she was worried that Ben would forget her once he got into Hogwarts. After all, Hogwarts was surely much more interesting than she was. 

But he hadn’t so far.

With a sigh, Rey focused her eyes on the book he had recommended next. She liked the cover, three children walking and a weird, long, dark man spying on them from the shadows. She grabbed her notebook and pen as she read the title. “ _The Bad Beginning_ ”. 

She frowned. _What a weird way to name a book_. She wondered if that was one of the reasons Ben liked it so much.

She wrote down this thought as her first question. One hand gripping the pen, while scrolling the first pages of the book with the other. With the soft wind caressing her loose baby hairs around her ears, she started reading.

_“If you´re interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book...”_

-o-

“Rey”

Rey stared through the dining-room window, watching the orange leaves dance in the wind, free from any homework. She sighed and turned her head towards an eyebrow-raised Rose.

“I don’t want to.” She hit her head against the wood table, earning a warning look from Maz across the room, entering the kitchen.

“I know, but it’s not that hard, I promise.”

“You know what would make it even easier? If you just lend me yours.”

Rose huffed, modeling with her hands a piece of clay. Half the table was covered in old newspapers. Rose was sitting on one extreme, completely covered in a plastic pink protector. Rey was hitting her pen against the math textbook and notepad on the opposite side of the table, impatient leg moving under the table.

“So what? So you can copy it?”

“Just to get some inspiration, Rosie.”

Rose lifted her eyes upwards, hands filled with clay. She raised an eyebrow. They both giggled.

“Why aren’t you outside, anyway, with the other kids?” Rey asked, playing with the pen.

“Maz said I needed to stay put for a while. She got me clay and said I should let my mind wander.” Rose rolled her eyes, theatrically gesturing. She shrugged. “I like it, though.”

She paused for a while and then eyed Rey. “I’m not leaving your side, so you can’t steal my homework.”

Rey pretended to be offended but cursed internally. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and focused on the textbook.

-o-

Rey was putting her red coat on when she heard a knock on the bedroom window. She turned around and saw Chewie pecking the glass, with a letter tied to his foot, demanding to be let in.

“Rey, c’mon, we’re going to be late again.” Rose’s voice complained from the front door.

“Damn it”, Rey muttered, opening the window just enough so Chewie could get inside. She looked into the yellow bird eyes. “You listen to me”, she said, pointing a finger at him. “You need to go and come back later, I’m late for school.”

Chewie eyed her and picked her finger, shaking the letter hanging on his feet.

“Chewie, I mean it”, she glanced at her bedroom door, Rose was going to burst in any minute now if she didn’t go to her first.

The bird looked at her but didn’t move. Rey exhaled.

“Fine, do what you want, but at least hide so Maz doesn’t see you”. She patted the bird’s head and it made a weird sound, like a purr. “You tell Ben he can’t send you here just at any moment, okay?”

The bird looked at her with deep eyes. “REY!”

“I’M COMING, ROSE, STOP SCREAMING.” Rey grabbed her black backpack and closed the door anxiously, hoping Maz didn’t open their bedroom door until they came back.

A few hours later, Rey stormed into her bedroom, anxiously looking for Chewie. She exhaled. _He wasn’t there. Either he left or he was hidden._ Rose came right back, humming a song they had heard in school.

“What is wrong with you?” Rose frowned. “You almost ran to the house.”

Rey tried to look as natural as she could. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rose eyed her. “If you have a stomach bug or something you can just tell me or Maz, you know?”

Rey was checking the room’s corners, half-dreading to find a feathered chocolate ball. “What? Oh, okay, thanks.”

Rose narrowed her eyelids. “Okay then, I’m going to see if Maz needs help”, she said as she walked outside.

“Rose? Can you help me set the table, please?”. Rey heard Maz calling for her friend and thanked God. She was suspicious. Rey doubted Chewie would just leave. She opened the closet door to a pair of yellow eyes looking at her from the shadows. Rey smiled.

“Ben told you not to leave until I had a long-ass letter for him, huh?”

Chewie hooted as if to agree.

Rey sighed but the smile didn’t leave her face. _Damn it, Solo_. She untied the letter from the bird’s leg. “Fine, but you need to go hide somewhere else, outside. Go to the roof or something. I still need to read this first.”

Chewie looked at her disapprovingly.

“I’ll be fast, I promise. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

The owl didn’t move. 

“And I’ll bring you something to eat as well”, Rey rolled her eyes. 

Chewie purred and went out of the open window silently.

She smiled and looked at the envelope. There was only one word written on the outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Ben's font is Paterson's, in case you were wondering)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this gives you a little serotonin in this confusing time<3
> 
> Thank you all so much for your kind comments, they mean the world to me
> 
> Special thank you to Danica for beta-ing this chapter

Hogwarts Headmistress Leia Organa was pacing her circular office again, burgundy robes floating around her tiny frame. She cleared her throat, twirling her wand in between her fingers. She had tried to wait for Luke sitting on the big wooden desk, but she was too nervous to stay put. Still, there were a few things she had to take care of.

She inhaled, eyes shutting closed, concentrating. With a skilled flick of her wand, the Patronus appeared in front of the witch, waiting for its message.

“Han, Ben has been sorted into Ravenclaw.”

Leia half-smiled, remembering her son’s not-so-surprised look on his face when the sorting hat had screamed out the House name. Coming from a long line of Gryffindors, Leia had always felt that naturally, her son too was destined for the Red and Gold House. But knowing the young man that Ben was growing up to be, she thought to herself how well fit he was to the Ravenclaw House values. _My smart boy. He knew._

“He looks happy, but I’ll ask Luke to keep an eye on him. Be safe. Don’t do anything stupid.”

The honey badger nodded before disappearing to deliver its message. Leia lowered her wand with a sigh. She had wanted to see if Han was home via Floo powder to tell him the news in person but she knew it was almost certain that she would find an empty, cold house. Leia avoided that house as much as she could. It was too much.

A knock on the Headmistress's door interrupted her sad line of thoughts. “Come in.”

Professor Luke Skywalker’s velvety red robes stormed in.

“Well, you took your damn time, didn’t you?”

“I think you’re overreacting, Leia.” He sat down in one of the chairs.

“Overreacting? He was sorted into Ravenclaw, Luke.”

“I’m well aware of that. I was there and saw the whole thing, including Ben’s face. Did you?”

“He seemed fine. What about it?” Leia asked.

“The first thing he did after the hat sorted him was looking at you. And you weren’t smiling.”

“Of course I wasn’t smiling! I’m worried about him!”

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if he misunderstood worry for disappointment.” Luke shook his head and exhaled a tired sigh. “He’s just a kid, Leia. He will be fine.”

“I know he’s still a child, but everyone knows who he is, Luke. And everyone knows he’s my son. I can’t be showing favoritism. He comes from an almost unbroken line of Gryffindor’s..”

Luke looked up at one of the sleeping portraits on the wall. “Almost.”

Leia followed his gaze and exhaled. “Padmé.”

Luke nodded. “A Ravenclaw and one of the brightest and most loved Heads Hogwarts has ever had. He will be just fine, Leia.”

Leia nibbled her lower lip. “What about the wand?”

Luke laughed. “When have you ever believed in superstitions or bad omens, Leia?”

Leia frowned. “It’s more than that and you know it. Maz-“

“Maz needs to mind her own business. Thestrals are just weird-looking, that’s it. If we start considering bad omens or anything that a seer says, then we may as well never use magic again.” Luke shrugged.

Leia exhaled, sitting down at her chair, her tired shoulders stooping over. She brought both hands up to her cheeks.

“You said it yourself, Luke. You have been teaching here way longer than I have and you said you had never seen a child with so much raw power, untamed.”

“I stand by what I said, Leia. Ben is incredibly powerful, he just needs guidance. And that’s why he’s in Hogwarts, isn’t it?” He winked at her.

She gave him a half-smile.

“I know. And that’s what I need from you. Keep an eye on him, make sure he adapts, makes friends, and doesn’t get in too much trouble. I have way too many things on my plate. You’re closer and he trusts you.”

Luke hesitated before answering. “I can try, but he’s not in my house, Leia. You should be asking Snoke, not me.”

“I know, and I will. But Ben’s your nephew. You were the one who first started teaching him how to control his power. I’m sure he’ll lean more to you than to Professor Snoke if it comes to it.”

Luke nodded, yawning. Leia’s shoulders relaxed. “And keep an eye on the Dameron kid too. He seems just as problematic as his brother.”

“Another Dameron?”

“And a Gryffindor, of course.”

Luke grunted. “If I lose all my hair this year I’m blaming him.”

Leia smiled and glanced at the clock. “Is it 2 AM already? Get some rest, Luke, that will be all.”

Luke stood up, yawning. Before leaving the office he looked back at his sister, now organizing piles of parchment. “You should try sleeping every now and then, you know?”

Leia gave him a sad smile and kept organizing as Luke closed the heavy doors behind him.

-o-

Rey nibbled on her lip, standing in front of Ben's house with the book tightly held against her chest, hesitating. She didn’t like going inside without him. It felt wrong, despite what he said. 

The last time she was here, someone had left open the library's window and she had sneaked inside, grabbing the next book on the shelf and replacing it with the one she had come to return. Rey had managed to climb back out the window and dash across the road without anyone even noticing that she had been there. 

_ Maybe she could check if they had left the window open again.  _

The cold wind made her arms prickle with goosebumps and she shivered. Her red shoes didn’t make a sound as she approached the library’s window. Someone had left an inch open. Rey smiled.

Climbing through, she landed with a soft _thud_ in the huge library and walked towards the shelf Ben had reserved especially for her and, after examining the books, she picked the one that was next and returned the finished book. Rey noticed there was a small chocolate bar on the shelf, one she was sure wasn’t there the last time she had gone inside the library. She had a feeling it had been left for her. She smiled and put it in one of her jacket pockets when the door opened.

Rey froze for a minute and exhaled in silent relief when she saw it was just Lyra, the house-elf. Rey had seen Lyra before on some of the visits she had made with Ben before he left. She was always dressed very neatly, her white hair pulled into a bun, always to be seen cleaning every inch of the house. 

Ben had told Rey all about house-elves and how they were treated second class to witches and wizards. How in most households, house-elves were bound to work in an almost slave-like manner. But his mother Leia, would not stand for such mistreatment of any magical creature. Leia treated Lyra with kindness, and in return, Lyra worked for Leia not because she was forced, but because she chose to. The house-elf even wore witches clothes instead of the usual dirty rags that most house-elves were only allowed to. 

Her giant green eyes spotted her even though Rey hadn’t moved.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Ms. Rey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Just Rey, Lyra.” Rey smiled at her. She corrected her every time they met, but Lyra always seemed to forget.

“Of course, I’m sorry, Rey. Master Han asked me to tell you you’re welcome to use the front door too.”

Rey blushed.

The house-elf smiled at her. “If you need anything just let me know, Rey.”

The girl nodded and Lyra closed the door behind her, leaving Rey in a cold library, holding one of the few solid objects that represented the bond between Ben and her. …. one of his books.

-o-

Rey placed warm cookies on the cooling rack quickly and carefully, making sure they were safe. They had cut them into different shapes: a Christmas tree, candy canes, and snowflakes.

The surface of the dining room table was packed with trays of cooling cookies and the house was filled with the scents of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. Christmas music was playing in the living room. Rey smiled. She loved afternoons like this.

Tommy and Rose were each mixing colorants in bowls of royal icing. Maz came into the dining room with mittens on her hands holding a hot oven tray.

“This is the last batch, so you three can start decorating while I find sprinkles, okay?” She left the tray over a cooling rack.

All the kids eagerly nodded and did as they were told, each one with their own style. Tommy was the youngest of them, so Rose was making sure that he didn’t make a complete mess, while Rey tried to put the icing without messing up the edges. She applied a green coat carefully on the tree-shaped-cookie and waited for it to dry, considering adding little colored balls on top -like Christmas lights. 

Someone bursting into a Christmas song interrupted her thoughts. Rey looked up to an extremely joyful Rose. 

“You’re like a Christmas elf, Tico.”

Rose laughed. “Maz told me Paige will be spending Christmas with us.” She announced, with a huge grin on her face.

Rey smiled back and mentally crossed another day.  _ Ben would be back in 2 days _ .

She grabbed one of the glass jars they were using to pack the cookies in, which they would be gifting to other people, and carefully wrote  _ Ben _ on the tag.

-o-

Rey inhaled her breakfast, even though it was her favorite -chocolate chip pancakes. Once she was done, she ran to her room and got dressed in record time, leaving her hair down for once and putting on her red coat and hat. She was lacing up the black boots Maz had gifted her earlier when a sleepy Paige shushed her. She was sleeping with Rose in the lower bunk; Rose was hugging her and quietly snoring, both wearing matching pink PJs.

“Sorry, sorry”, Rey muttered to the sisters.

Paige opened one eye. “Rey? It’s like 8 AM”, she whispered.

“I know, I know, but there’s something important I need to do”, she whispered back.

Rose whined, trapped between sleep and reality.

Paige was still sleepy but quietly called out to Rey who was about to leave. Rey looked at her impatiently.

“Grab my scarf, it’s freezing outside”, she muttered.

Rey grabbed the hanging fabric from the door, wrapping it around her neck and face, and almost sprinted to the door. She closed it carefully since everyone was still asleep except for Maz, who was in the kitchen piling up pancakes.

The cold wind outside took her breath away, everything was covered in white snow. She walked fast in the empty street. Ben had written in his last letter that he would be back today in the afternoon and to meet her at the tree but she was too anxious and eager to wait.

As she reached the park, she noticed a figure pacing near the pond, with something in one hand.

_ Ben _ .

She sprinted towards him and he raised his head, walking fast towards her too, then sprinting. They collided, clearly miscalculating each other’s force and they hugged, laughing. Rey noticed Ben was way taller than her now. 

Rey’s face hurt from smiling so much, her chest was warm.  _ Ben was back. _

“Niima? Are you listening to me?”

Rey let go of him. He was looking at her with beaming eyes. His nose was bright red from the cold weather. 

“What? Sorry.”

Ben laughed. “I said I had something for you.”

_ Oh, shit _ . “I have something for you too, but I didn’t bring it with me.”

Ben seemed surprised. “That’s fine, you can give it to me later or another day.” He smiled. “Can I show it to you?”

Rey nodded.

“Merry Christmas, Niima.” He extended a square, badly wrapped package.

She took it silently. All her previous excitement evaporated. She tried to contain her emotion.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged, eyeing the present. “I know. I wanted to.”

She swallowed hard and sat down on a big root, unwrapping it with infinite care. It was a book. She smiled, reading the title out loud. “ _ The Wizard of Oz _ ”

Rey smiled again and pressed the book against her chest. “Thank you, Ben.”

His ears went red and he played with the snow in his boots. “I think you’ll like it”. He laughed. “And maybe you’ll understand why I picked it when you read it.”, he said, flashing a glance at her shoes. This was the first time he had seen her in any other footwear other than her little red shoes. He hoped that she would get the reference to Dorothy’s red slippers which made him think of her.

Rey nodded absently, looking at the cover. A girl in the eye of a wild tornado.  _ No one had given her a book before _ . 

“I have to go. Mom is back, she wants to spend the day together because “family should be together on Christmas”. He rolled his eyes. “I just wanted to give you your present first.”

Rey smiled. “I understand.”

“Niima.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re going to do something fun tonight.”

“Tonight? What is it?”

“It’s a surprise. Be in our spot at 11 PM.”

Rey snorted. “Oh, yeah, that sounds like the greatest idea for Maz to get myself grounded. You’re supposed to be in the smart house, Solo.”

He rolled his eyes. “Wear something warm.”

Rey opened her eyes and looked at the watch Paige had given her on Christmas. 10.45 PM. She got up quietly, trying to not wake up the Tico sisters. She got dressed and closed the door quietly. Rey felt a pair of eyes lingering on her nape when she left the house, but there was no one there when she turned around. Rey shivered walking down the lonely street. All the neighbors had Christmas decorations up, colorful lights, and giant candy on their front yards.

She shivered again. _Damned Ben Solo. If Maz grounded her or if she died from hypothermia it would be all his fault._ _What was so important that she just had to get up in the middle of the night?_

Finally, she reached their tree, where a very not-shaky Ben Solo was waiting for her sitting in the snow near the pond.

“Jesus, Solo, are you trying to get us to freeze to death?"

He rolled his eyes and lied down in the snow. “I told you to wear something warm. Now shut up and get your ass here.” Ben patted the snow next to him with a bare hand.

Rey squinted her eyes and sat beside him. 

“Okay, now lean backward.”

“Was this your grand plan? To bury me in the snow?”

“As if you wouldn’t do the same to me.” 

Rey opened her mouth, but Ben interrupted her. “Just do it.”

Rey scoffed but did as she was told. She would have found the snow too cold on her back but she gasped when she looked up at the dark blue sky, filled with bright white stars. A shooting star crossed the firmament. 

“It’s beautiful”, she exclaimed. 

“You asked me how the Ravenclaw common room ceiling looked like”, he shrugged. 

She smiled, and they stayed like that for a while, trying to decipher constellations. 

Ben looked at her. “Rey”

“Hmm?”

"I want to show you something." He sat up slowly and she imitated him with curious eyes.

Ben placed both bare hands on the snow with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes. Rey held her breath. 

One by one, snow started lifting from the ground in the shape of perfect little snowflakes, as they had been before. 

Rey laughed, her eyes beaming with wonder. Every snowflake in the air around them was frozen, suspended in the air, twirling and dancing itself, like little crystals. 

She looked at Ben in shock, who was staring at her smiling. Rey stood up and played with the snowflakes, with her head towards the sky. She eyed Ben and saw he had a mischievous smile on his face.

He took a deep breath, extending his hand forwards. And doing so, he let all the snowfall back down, part of it landing softly on Rey's face.

Ben heard her surprised and indignant gasp. He giggled. 

“BEEEEEEEEEEN!”

He stood up and sprinted, laughing. Then he felt something hard hit his back and turned around. Rey was still shaking snow from her face but she had managed to throw a snowball at him.

“You’re  _ so _ dead, Solo.”

“Bring it on. No magic, though.”

Rey hesitated.

“What? Scared to lose, Niima?”

She looked down at the snow and shrugged, not meeting his eyes, with her hands behind her back, carefully collecting snow without Ben noticing.

“I never said that.”

She threw a snowball at his surprised face and ran.

“THAT’S CHEATING, NIIMA!”

She laughed while she heard a snowball passing just near her ear, running.

-o-

“So Poe and I were trying the jelly beans and-“

“Wait, what? Poe?” The name was familiar. “Isn’t that idiot you fought the first day?”

Ben laughed. “Yeah, the same.”

“I thought you hated him.”

Ben shrugged. “Turns out he’s not all bad.”

Rey looked at him with squinted eyes. “How come?”

Ben’s expression turned almost guilty and he laughed, eating one of the Christmas cookies Rey had gifted him. “Well, after he saved my life-“

“He what!? Explain.”

“We -kinda- agreed not to tell anyone..”

Rey raised an eyebrow.

Ben chuckled. “Fine. So we got into a fight the first day because he said I wasn’t brave enough and that’s why I didn’t get into Gryffindor, like him.”

Rey opened her mouth to protest but Ben filled it with a giant cookie before she could interrupt him. She looked pissed but munched. Ben smiled.

“We got into a fight and mom separated us, but then I told Poe that if he was as brave as he said he should go into the Forbidden Forest one night.”

Rey swallowed and laughed.

“He accepted it but said I had to do it as well to prove I was brave enough too. So we went one night -you should’ve seen him, he was almost pissing himself-, and we walked and said we would stop when one of us was afraid. I thought we weren’t going to go far, but neither of us admitted it was getting darker and colder. That was until we came across the spiders.”

“Spiders? You boys got scared over spiders?”

Ben shook his head. “Not normal spiders, Niima. Giant ones, bigger than cars.” He showed her with his arms and Rey's jaw dropped. He seemed to enjoy her reaction.

“What did you do?”

“We ran. I tried to hex them and I think I got one or two but there were  _ too  _ many, surrounding us.” Ben paused and shivered. “Poe tried to scare them off by screaming and punching them, like an idiot. I hexed one spider that nearly decapitated him, just in time.”

Rey laughed nervously. “How did he save your life?”

“I was trying to clear a path for us to run back to the castle and didn’t see a spider fast approaching my back and I fell to the ground. Poe kicked it away and we made it out alive somehow. We got detention, but it wasn’t so bad.”

Rey smiled and munched a cookie. “So he’s not an idiot.”

“Oh, he definitely is. Just not as much as I thought.”

She chuckled.

“He’s annoying, though.”

“Why?”

“He goes around and plays the guitar. He’s always singing.” Ben rolled his eyes.

“That doesn’t sound that bad.”

“You haven’t listened to him.”

Rey smiled. “Yet.”

Ben grinned at her. “Yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday <3
> 
> Thank you readers for your beautiful comments, reading them is one of my favorite things (keep them coming haha)
> 
> Thank you Danica for beta-ing this chapter, I really couldn't have done it without yo
> 
> Let's go

Ben flicked his wand up and down, elevating a ball of parchment with every move. He was seated in a corner of the Library, at one of the desks next to a tall window, looking out at the snow covering Hogwarts’s tall pines, remembering the afternoon he had said goodbye to Rey. She had looked so sad as if she didn’t want him to leave. They had spent almost every single day of Christmas break together.

Yet, he missed her so much.

A whisper of his name with a mention of Ravenclaw caught Ben’s attention. He turned his head to see two Hufflepuff girls walking by fast, trying to hide the fact that they were just talking about him.

He rolled his eyes, focusing on the ball again. It was now almost 5 months since he had been sorted into Ravenclaw and somehow people still thought it was an interesting topic to talk about how the latest in the Skywalker line had ended up in a house that wasn’t Gryffindor.

Poe burst into the library, panting, red-faced, with his robes, sweater, red and gold tie completely askew. He threw his textbooks onto the table next to Ben and placed his hands on the back of a chair trying to steady his breathing.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m late.”

“What the fuck happened to you?”

“I tried to sneak into Quidditch trials. Peeves said I could pass for a second year.”

“Yeah? How well did that turn out?” Ben’s wand kept up the rhythm with the paper ball, elevating it higher and higher.

“Not great.” He admitted. “The Captain took one look at me and asked if I was ‘Dameron’s kid brother”. Poe rolled his eyes.

“Ah, the famous Pedro Dameron,” Ben muttered.

“The one and only.” Poe smiled. ‘“So the word got around pretty fast that I am a first-year.”

“Doesn’t it bother you? That everyone knows you because of someone else before you?”

Poe considered it, taking a seat at the table. “Well, I’m not Benjamin _Organa_ Solo-“

Ben rolled his eyes.

“Seriously, dude. You’re pretty much a prince around here. And Quidditch legend Han Solo’s son. _And_ war hero Luke Skywalker’s nephew. _And_ Headmaster Leia’s son. Not to mention you’re the grandson of-“

The parchment ball landed on Poe’s face.

“Do you want my help or not, Dameron?”

Poe chuckled. “Fine, I’ll shut up.”

He grabbed one of the books scattered on the table and started flipping through the pages of _Elemental Transfiguration: Level 1_.

“How come _you’re_ so good at this?”

Ben shrugged. “I like Transfiguration.”

“I’d like it an awful lot more if Snoke didn’t give me so much shit every class.”

Ben smiled. “He doesn’t seem to have a problem with me.”

Poe huffed. “Yeah, right we know. You’re like his favorite. Last time he gave you what? 10 points for just answering his obvious question?”

“I’m in his house. That has to count for something.”

“Lucky bastard.”

Ben grinned. “Last time, Gryffindor was the best house. What happened, Dameron?”

“Skywalker. Sorry, dude, I know he’s your uncle and stuff, but he’s always lurking, looking at me as if I was going to blow ink bubbles out at any moment.”

“In his defense, you did do that.”

“One time!”

A shush from Madam Pince, the librarian, came through the bookshelves. The boys glanced at each other and lowered their voices.

“One time he caught you.” Ben corrected.

“You? I remember you were there too, Solo.”

“And I was smart enough to not get caught, Dameron.”

Poe cursed under his breath, now flipping through his textbook too. He stopped on the page he was looking for and looked at Ben, who was twirling another parchment ball in the air effortlessly.

“Shoot.”

“Okay, so here’s the part I don’t get. When I try to turn the beetle into a button it still has little feet.”

Ben laughed and set the ball down on the table, beginning to explain the theory, gesturing with his long hands as he spoke.

-o-

Leia was dictating to her quill as she walked fast, down the long hall of the staff tower. She had just finished a meeting with the other Professors and now she had to run to another with the Minister of Magic. All before lunch. She sighed. At some point, she had to eat.

A voice called out to her from one of the Professor’s chambers. “Leia.”

The witch stopped walking and turned her head to Professor Snoke’s voice. “Yes?”

“I was hoping I could have a word with you.”

“I’m sorry.” Leia pointed at the parchment and quill floating in the air next to her. “I’m very busy, but if you want I can block out a space for you maybe next week-”

“It’s about your son.”

Leia hesitated. She had to know.

With a sigh, she beckoned at Snoke to walk with her to her office. When they reached the door Snoke grabbed the brass handle, swinging the door open to invite her in. Leia frowned. She didn’t like being invited into her own territory. 

She sat down behind her desk and raised her eyebrows at the Professor, waiting for him to talk.

The old man cleared his throat. He didn’t take a seat. Instead, he paced around Leia’s office, examining it.

“Ben Solo is a very capable student. From what I have heard, the other Professors only have praises for his grades and potential.”

“But?”

“But… I’m sorry to say he’s not achieving the level I expect in _my_ class. His grades are barely acceptable, actually.”

Leia blinked, astounded. As far as she was concerned, she had heard Ben was excelling in all his classes.

“Are you sure?”

“See it for yourself.” Snoke extended her a file record with Ben’s name on it. Her eyes examined the page. All A’s… except Transfiguration. Ben was barely passing with a C.

“I see. I’ll make sure he improves his grades.” Leia returned the parchment to the bony pale hand.

“Actually, I was thinking I could help with that. Several Ravenclaw students seem to be facing the same problem and, as his Head of House and Transfiguration Professor, it seems only fitting that I’m the one who should take care of it. I wanted to ask for your authorization to create a study group. To make sure students reach the level expected.”

Leia raised her eyebrows, surprised. “Yes, of course. Seems very fitting.”

The old man’s eyes glowed with the victory. “Perfect, then. I’ll leave you to your busy schedule. I’ll see myself out.”

With those words, he got to the door and closed it behind him. Leia frowned, confused. She didn’t expect to have a conversation like that in the middle of the kind of morning she was having. She was not particularly fond of Snoke, but she knew he was the best in his field. He’d make sure Ben learned.

The green emerald flames of her chiminea reminded her she had an important appointment pending. Shaking her head, Leia focused on her duties.

On the other side of the door, a wrinkled pale hand holding a wand tapped on Ben Solo’s file. Once the spell was undone, the line of “C”s besides “Transfiguration” turned into a line of straight “A”s.

-o-

Ben woke up with the first rays of the sun creeping over his blue bedspread. He wanted to check the owlery for Rey’s reply. If she had indeed sent him a letter, he wanted to read it by himself away from his housemates. And the owlery at this hour was so peaceful.

He grabbed a box of cereal and some fruit from the Great Hall and climbed the stairs to check if Chewie was there.

His owl welcomed him with a cheerful hoot. Ben smiled and patted his head, spotting the letter attached to his leg. Chewie would have had to wait till breakfast time to bring Ben his delivery. Ben was glad he had woken up earlier. He offered the bird a piece of fruit.

Chewie chittered happily while Ben untied the letter.

“You waited until she was alone and everything, right? I don’t want to get her in trouble with Maz.”

The owl nodded, pecking Ben’s hands and pockets for more food.

“Nu-uh. The cereal is mine. Go play with the others while I read this.”

Chewie screeched and batted his large wings, making the small flight over to the other owls. Ben noticed with a smile that most of the other birds were tiny compared to his owl, and yet rather than being afraid, they seemed to seek his warmth and protection. 

He recognized the paper, it was just like a page from his black notebook. He unfolded the pages and started reading, sitting near a wide window.

-o-

Ben knocked on the black wooden door three times.

“Come in.”

The first thing that shocked him was the smell. Herbal, floral, as if he was in the middle of a forest. He opened the door to reveal a room shrouded in dim light, full of exotic plants categorized in vessels on a shelf, lined next to each other. Each was different, every single one of them had a mysterious glow and almost seemed to move in slow motion.

The room had floor-to-ceiling windows, great gold tapestries hanging from the ceiling and rare, treasured items were piled carelessly in corners.

Snoke cleared his throat, snapping Ben out of his thoughts. The boy looked at the wrinkled man in golden robes sitting behind his desk.

“You wanted to see me, Professor?”

Snoke smiled.

“Indeed, Ben. Take a seat.”

Ben nodded. The Professor gestured towards the seat across the desk and Ben sat. Snoke gave him a slight grin.

“How are you finding yourself at Hogwarts so far?”

 _Crowded, and yet lonely_. Ben pressed his lips together.

“It’s not bad.”

Snoke gave him a grim chuckle. “Ah, I’ve seen you in class, Ben. All the other Professors confirm that you excel in all classes.” He stood up and slowly paced around the dim-lit office.

He stood with his back to Ben, examining one of the plants. "But of course, classes aren't everything. Friends.. especially, the _right_ friends are equally important." Snoke turned around and smiled at Ben, walking back to his desk.

“I’m starting a little… club if you want to call it that. For exceptional students, that show certain skills. As a way to improve abilities. Have you ever dueled, Ben?” The Professor sat down, looking for something in one of the desk compartments.

“I don’t think so, Professor.”

The old man found what he was looking for and extended it to him. A wrinkled piece of paper, blank. Ben took it and looked at it questioningly.

“The location and time will show up there once I’ve decided it,” Snoke said.

Ben kept staring at the piece of parchment, almost waiting for the words to show up. He was curious and proud, having a feeling being invited was a very exclusive privilege. He would make his parents proud.

“You’re dismissed.”

Ben stood up and walked away, near the door. “Professor?”

“Yes?”

“Why me?”

Snoke slowly tilted his head.

“There’s a reason why Mr. Hux is in the infirmary, isn’t it?”

Ben half-smiled. Hux was a first-year Ravenclaw just like him, who tripped him when he was walking with arms full of books. In return, Ben had cursed Hux and caused him to vomit slugs for 2 days straight in the infirmary. He thought he had gotten away with it, without anyone noticing who had cast the spell.

_Apparently, not._

“I think you’re very talented, Ben. I think you’re more powerful than your classmates.” A slow smile curved his fine lips. “And I think you already know that, don’t you?”

Ben looked at him without answering.

Snoke smiled. “Feel free to visit anytime, Ben.”

The boy nodded, closing the door behind him.

-o-

Ben nibbled his quill, trying to decide what he wanted to shorten from his homework. 

The rustle of pages next to him brought a small smile to his lips. Rey was helping him with an essay for _History of Magic_. He was back at home for Easter break with an enormous load of homework, but Rey didn't seem to mind spending her afternoons helping him in the always-empty park, where they wouldn’t be disturbed nor would receive strange looks over Ben’s school supplies. 

They were sitting on the grass under their tree, he was quickly filling up parchment with his handwriting in shiny black ink while Rey sat with her legs crossed beside him, textbook open on her lap. They were surrounded by quills, bottles of ink, more textbooks, and a pile of -rapidly sizing down thanks to him- clementines.

Ben paused to read what he had written so far on the secret magic statutes, absently munching a piece of fruit. He felt Rey's gaze on him. 

"What?" He smiled, his eyes lingering on the parchment. 

"You're doing that thing you do when you concentrate. Moving your lips while you read."

He grinned. "Sorry."

"I don't mind." She smiled. 

Ben re-read the paragraph. _"..the wizards would remain secret from the muggles, keeping them.."_

“Ben?”

“Hmmm?” He stopped reading but his eyes didn’t leave the paper.

“What if I don’t get sorted into Ravenclaw?”

The shy question shook him. Ben looked at the nervous little girl. As he stared into her deep hazels he realized they'd never talked about that. Rey never showed any particular preference nor fear of getting sorted into a specific house. She didn't have the pressure Ben had felt on his shoulders. 

_Or did she?_

He was the only one who knew about her powers. The one -he hoped- that knew her better than anyone. 

And yet, she was nervous about what would happen with them, what would he think if she wasn't sorted into the same house. Ben couldn't care less. He knew it would make absolutely no difference, as far as he was concerned.

Watching anxiety growing every second in her eyes, he cursed himself for not making sure before that she knew the house sorting didn't have any major significance for him. The only reason why he would be "not-too-happy" if Rey was sorted into a different house, was that he would probably not see her as much. But that was inevitable, considering they were going to be in different years.

Still, the question shouldn't be about him. He knew Rey would make new friends once she got there, maybe even her friend Rose would be going with her. They had decided not to say anything to her until Rey got her letter. Ben hoped she would go to Hogwarts with Rey, to keep her company.

But that didn't mean she would forget about him. He hoped.

When Rey's eyes widened he realized he hadn't yet answered her question and that he had his mouth open like an idiot. He shook his head. 

“Do you want to be sorted in Ravenclaw?”

His answer filled her eyes with confusion and surprise. She hesitated before replying.

“I don’t know. I guess? Isn’t that what you want?”

He was shaking his head before she finished answering. 

“It’s not about what I want, Rey. The hat takes into consideration a lot of things, and what you want is one of those.”

Rey nibbled her lip. 

Ben smiled at her. He knew she probably had absolutely no idea about what she wanted and was worried about what would happen with them. She needed reassurance. 

“Don’t worry, Niima. I’ll still be around to challenge your ridiculous opinions on things. Whatever house you get in.”

He noticed that she was hiding her relief pretending to look for something in the book. “It’s not my fault your opinions are so bizarre, Solo.”

Ben made an offended gesture and pretended he was revising his essay, as if he was ignoring her, making sure that she was smiling, looking out of the corner of his eye.

Rey laughed and tossed him a piece of clementine, which he caught with one hand and ate winking at her.

-o-

"Ah, Ben. I was waiting for you.” Snoke’s pale hand invited the boy in the room, placing it on his shoulder.

Ben looked around him. A dozen Ravenclaw classmates were spread across the wide room, talking in low voices. Some of them nodded in his direction as he entered the room with the Professor by his side. 

He realized his arrival had interrupted a duel between a classmate and, to his disgust, it was Hux. They seemed ready to start again until Snoke raised a hand. 

“I’m aware some of you are new to dueling, but this is why we are here. To improve… abilities. I want to see what you can do in order to evaluate individual strengths and flaws. You’ll be taking turns to duel each other.”

Everyone nodded and stepped a little further from Hux and his rival, giving them space. 

The boy who’s name Ben didn’t know pronounced a spell, but Hux dodged it effortlessly. Ben stared as the boy tried again, and again until a tongue-twisting hex hit the ginger boy. Hux grunted, frustrated, and shook his wand violently, petrifying the boy, who fell to the ground like a statue.

Hux grinned at Snoke, triumphant. The Professor nodded approvingly, not giving a second glance at the boy petrified on the floor. Hux spat on the floor in his classmate's direction. “Blood traitor”, he muttered.

Snoke looked at Ben. “Your turn.”

Ben walked slowly until he was in front of Hux. He raised his wand, trying to decide if he wanted to make Hux vomit slugs again or to make his ginger hair fall off. Ben opened his mouth.

In a bat of an eye, Hux twirled his wand, and Ben was expelled into the air against the room wall, air completely knocked out of his chest. Hux gifted him a smug smile.

_Fucking asshole._

He wouldn’t let him win next time. Ben stood up.

  
  


-o-

“What about the Halloween feast?” she asked, tilting her head. 

“Of course you want to know about the food, not the teachers, not the classes.” He muttered, his mind on Snoke’s club. Ben was ready to face Hux again. He would win this time. He would prove to them all he was worthy. In a few months, he would begin 2nd year and things would be very different.

“Ben?”

“Huh?” He had a feeling Rey had said something he hadn’t heard.

“I asked about the classes.” Ben was home for the summer holidays.

“Ah.” He shook his head. He would tell her about the club once he had won a duel. “Nothing in particular. There’s a lot to learn, that’s all.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a bookworm.”

Ben raised an eyebrow, staring at the book she had beside her knee. “Really?”

“Shut up,” muttered Rey, repressing a half-smile while he laughed. “So? The feast? It’s good, then?”

“Yeah, it’s okay I guess, there’s a lot to pick” he answered, distracted. Ben was lying on the grass, propped up by his elbows, scanning the horizon, as the sun disappeared. _Another sunset. She had to go again._

As if she had heard his thoughts, he turned his head to see Rey gathering her things. He noticed a shiver running down her spine. 

“Do you want my hoodie?”, he asked as he stood up, following her. Ben noticed she seemed even smaller than when she had hugged him over Christmas. 

“No, no, it’s fine, I’ll just walk fast”, she answered quickly, grabbing her bag.

A loud, cold breeze swirled aggressively around them, mocking Rey’s words.

“You’re so stubborn.” He muttered, unzipping his black jacket, and draping it over her shoulders.

Ben raised an eyebrow, daring her to reject it. She rolled her eyes, putting on the warm hoodie. 

He tried to hide a smile. It was way too big for her, the fabric dancing around her thighs. Ben stared as she rolled up the sleeves several times in order for her hands to appear, putting on the backpack.

Rey extended her arms in front of her, silently remarking how baggy it looked on her. Her eyes begged him not to mess with her. 

_Oh, but he couldn't resist. She was adorable._

His grin had never been wider. 

“Looking good, Niima”, he laughed.

She gave him a murderous glance, as her cheeks turned soft pink. Rey stepped outside the shadow of the weeping willow, walking towards the pavement.

“Maybe we can finally finish the book tomorrow if you stop slowing us down”, he teased, bumping her side.

She scuffed. “Please, I think we both know you’re the slow one here.”

“You were the one who started asking about the food!” Ben accused.

Rey gave him a side-eye. “Only because you wouldn’t shut up about Jane Austen.”

“Pride and Prejudice is a masterpiece!”, he proclaimed, raising his voice, the goofy grin never leaving his lips.

“Yes, I know, I heard it the first 500 times. Doesn’t mean we can’t talk about other books, does it?”

He opened his mouth to answer but Rey cut him short. 

“Anyways, same time tomorrow? I do want to see what happens with Prince Caspian”, she said. 

He winked at her and smirked.

“Bye, Solo.”

Ben kept smiling as he watched her walk away, the girl with her hair in 3 buns, engulfed by his hoodie. 

_He just wanted to make sure she didn't catch a cold, that was it. He was being a good friend._

Or that's what he told himself. 

-o-

An annoying noise woke Rey.

_Couldn’t she sleep in, at least on her birthday?_

The sound was constant, tapping against her bedroom window. She opened one eye, grumbling. It could be Chewie. But he had been extremely careful delivering Ben's last letters. 

Plus, it didn't make sense. Ben wasn't in Hogwarts, he was just a few houses away. He didn't need to send her a letter. 

Unless it was something urgent. 

That thought woke her up completely. Rey jumped to the floor from her upper bunk. She vaguely registered that Rose wasn't there but most of her brain was focused on parting the curtains so she could find the origin of the noise. 

Rey found an owl tapping the outside of the window, a heavy letter with a wax seal tied to its legs, her name written in shiny black ink. 

An owl that wasn't Chewie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only 1 more chapter to complete Part I (and then the story moves to Hogwarts)! 
> 
> What did you think of the chapter?  
> What do you think it's gonna happen? 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)
> 
> [sacred nut's twitter](https://twitter.com/kyloshoekitten)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, readers <3
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience, this chapter is longer than the others so it took a while to write. And thank you so much for your comments! I need to catch up answering, but please know that I read them all and they make my day (so keep them coming haha)
> 
> Shoutout to Tricia for being so patient with my questions and to Danica for being the most amazing beta <3
> 
> Let's go

Rey folded her letter carefully again, after re-reading it for the 10 th time. Her heart was pounding on her chest and her head was spinning. She had been waiting for this moment for almost a year, and yet she felt unprepared.

_ What should she do first? _

On one hand, she was dying to tell Ben, to show him that she was going to go to Hogwarts with him, that she  _ finally _ was going to be a part of it.

On the other hand, she wanted to talk to Rose. Now that she had proof of what she was going to reveal, it was more likely that she would believe her.

But -she sighed- most importantly, she had to talk to Maz. That was going to be harder. Not because she thought the old woman would kick her out of her house, but Rey was sure that “Hey Maz, I’m a witch and I’ll be going to magic school in a few months” wasn’t on the list of things she expected to hear from her. Especially considering how much she cared about Rey being a good student at her non-magical school.

Plus, there was still the issue about Hogwarts’s school supplies. Rey nibbled her lip. She was sure Ben would help if she asked him, but she didn’t want to. She remembered he had mentioned something of school funds for students who didn’t have the means to get stuff, but she didn’t know how to access that. Rey would have to talk to the witch or wizard that would come to her house to explain to her care-taker about everything.

The visit! She had forgotten about it. Rey frowned.

_ Why had she received a letter if allegedly someone from the school would come to her house to explain everything? _

Rey re-read her letter again, scanning to see if she had missed something about the time that she would be visited, even though she was sure she hadn’t. She was correct.

With a sigh, Rey closed the letter again. Maybe the best thing she could do was wait for the witch or wizard to talk to Maz and then explain to Rose.

That meant she wouldn’t see Ben until all the other stuff was resolved.

But she couldn’t leave.

_ If the visitor came while she wasn’t here… _

_ No, no, she had to wait. _

She hid the letter in her black notebook and walked to the kitchen to get some breakfast, her bare feet not making any noise on the wood floors.

As Rey approached her destination, she heard quiet whispers and chuckles coming from the room, as well as a delicious smell that she recognized instantly as pancakes.

The kitchen door opened to a giggly Rose and Maz holding a plate piled full of chocolate-chip pancakes, two lit candles in the shape of “1”s on top, clearly startled to find her.

“Happy Birthday, Rey!” They said in chorus.

Rey grinned and blew the candles.

“We were going to bring it to you in bed.” Rose smiled. “Why are you up? You never wake up this early.”

Rey felt Maz's eyes evaluating her expression. She swallowed before smiling nervously.

“I was hungry.”

She grabbed the plate with both hands and headed to the dining room table, sitting down. Rose went to their bedroom to fetch her fluffy pink robe and Maz sat beside Rey, who was attacking her pile of pancakes.

“So? What do you want to do today, child? I was thinking maybe we could go to the mall, get you a haircut-“

“No, no.” Rey tried to reply with her mouth full, chewing fast. She tried to keep talking but she started coughing. Maz palmed her back. Rey swallowed.

“Can we stay at home? Just a normal day. Actually, I want to go out to the park later, if that’s okay.”

Maz’s eyes glowed with recognition and amusement. “Home, huh?” She shrugged. “If that’s what you want…”

“Yes, please.”

The old lady half-smiled at her, increasing Rey’s nervousness.  _ Why did she look so knowing? _

“Okay then.” Maz looked at Rey’s plate. “Finish your breakfast, dear. And you can go back to bed if you want to after, it’s still early.”

Rey nodded and grabbed another piece with her fork, carefully chewing so she wouldn’t choke again. Rose’s steps approached the dining room.

The little girl sat in the chair emptied by Maz, placing a clay bird in front of Rey’s plate. It was a woodpecker, Rey recognized. It was beautiful, with black and white feathers and a little red mohawk.

Rey looked at Rose, silently asking if she had made it for her. Rose smiled. “Happy Birthday.”

Rey stopped eating and hugged her friend, with the awkwardness of someone who was not used to giving out hugs. After so many birthdays spent alone and in crappy foster homes, it meant so much to Rey that anyone had gifted her anything at all. Especially something that was handcrafted and made with so much love and thought. 

“Thank you.”

Rose giggled and hugged her back.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“It’s beautiful. I love it, Rose.”

Rose’s chubby cheeks grinned.

Rey sat back down in her chair for the third time in the last five minutes. She kept pacing and sitting down, incapable of staying put. Hours had passed and still, no one had come for her. No Hogwarts’s visitors.

_ What if there was a mistake? What if she wasn’t supposed to go to Hogwarts? What if she hadn’t been accepted? _

_ What if she wasn’t a witch after all? _

No, no. She just had to wait. She just had to be patient. Maybe there had been some type of delay.

Still, she knew the doubts wouldn’t leave her until everything was cleared up.

Maz was humming a song in the kitchen, drying and putting away the cluttery from lunch. Rey heard her steps coming towards her. She avoided her eyes. She knew Maz was already suspicious, noticing Rey had been extremely watchful of the door and had almost jumped when the mailman had knocked on the door.

Maz sat down in front of her with a tired sigh. 

“Rey? Do you want to talk about the letter?”

She froze, before raising her eyes to the kind face of the old lady, framed by white hair.

“You know.”

Maz nodded, smiling patiently. Rey opened her mouth to ask  _ how  _ she knew but Maz got ahead of her.

The elderly woman took out a wand and levitated the little clay bird. She winked at her.

Rey gasped. “You… you’re a witch.” 

The pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. 

“Is that why no one came? They knew you were going to explain everything to me.”

Maz nodded again, smiling.

“But I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell me?”

The old witch sighed, extending a hand over the table to grab hers. She drew small circles over it.

“You deserved to have at least a year of a normal childhood, Rey. You had already suffered so much due to your powers, you didn’t trust anyone. I still remember the first day you arrived. Skin over bones, pale and terrified of yourself. My job was to give you a home as comfortable and safe as I could for as long as I could provide it, Rey.”

“Plus, I knew Ben would be around to teach you how to deal with your powers. If that hadn’t been the case I would’ve reached out, child, but the change in you was very clear the minute you started being around him.”

Rey’s head was spinning.  _ Maz knew about her powers before she got to her house? Maz knew Ben was a wizard? _ “Wait, what? You know Ben? How-“

“Leia and I go way back. We had a bit of a fallout, but I never stopped looking out for her son. I even offered her to receive Ben here when she... started getting busy, but she didn’t accept.”

Rey swallowed, still confused. The engines of her brain started working again. She looked at Maz. Suddenly, nothing seemed casual.

“The notebook.”

Maz chuckled.

“Yes, the notebook. I assumed Ben would get an owl once he got to Hogwarts. I knew you would need paper, to keep in touch with him. By the way, you can tell that bird to stop hiding in the closet to wait around for you, I have a bird feeder on the roof.”

Rey shook her head.  _ Chewie. So many things, too soon. _

“Oh, and we’ll have to go to Diagon Alley to get the school supplies. And we’ll get you a birthday present too.”

Rey was spinning again but there was another thing she had to say. She swallowed. That was important.

“Maz, Rose…”

Maz nodded, knowingly. Rey eyed her.

_ Nothing was a coincidence. _

“The clay.”

Maz smiled.

“Yes, the clay. Rose needed a creative outlet for her magic. It wasn’t as explosive as yours, but still needed a way out,” she said, staring at Rey’s little bird.

Rey swallowed. She was aching to run and show Ben her letter, to tell him officially that she was a witch, but there was something else before that.

“Maz, I… I don’t have any money. How am I going to pay for any of the school supplies?”

Maz shook her head.

“Don’t worry about that, Rey. I’ll cover it”

Rey looked at her in silence. Eyes opened in wide emotion.

“Now don’t get all excited on me, child. It won’t probably be all new, we may have to get 2 nd hand robes but-“

She was interrupted when Rey hugged her. Rey didn’t care about getting used things. She was going, like  _ actually going _ . Her chest was sparkling with joy and excitement. 

Maz’s arms were tense and surprised at the child’s gesture. She patted her back awkwardly.

“Well then, off you go. Go tell Ben. I’m sure he has been waiting for you all day.”

Rey nodded and smiled, grabbing her letter with both hands against her chest. She walked to the front door and gave Maz another silent grateful smile.

Maz gave her a “go” gesture and Rey turned around and closed the door behind her. If she had looked back, she would’ve seen the old witch staring at the little bird, remembering.

Remembering the day she had told Leia.

_ Leia was lifting a chubby baby with dark hair in the air, as the two women walked in the grass next to Hogwarts’s lake. Leia’s laugh, his giggles, and the woodpeckers chirping were the only sounds interrupting the sunny afternoon.  _

_ Maz hid a sad smile. If only she could spare them everything that was coming, if she could spare them both the pain… But seers were meant to see and tell. Not intervene.  _

_ Not trying to change what was inevitable. _

_ Leia kissed her son’s forehead, smiling with her eyes closed, humming a song while he rocked him wrapped in her arms. _

_ “Leia,” Maz called. _

_ The witch’s hazels opened. “Yes?” _

_ “We need to talk.” _

_ Leia sat down in the grass, letting Ben crawl wherever he wanted, and looked at Maz with a worried frown. Maz sighed, looking at the chubby baby waving his fat hands, playing with a blue butterfly. _

_ “I saw something.” _

_ Leia’s eyes were fixed on hers. _

_ “It 's Ben.” Maz didn’t want to continue, but she had to. It was the only way. “He has a great destiny ahead, Leia. He’s destined for greatness, and terrible things. He’s going to follow the steps of his grandfather. The next Dark Lord will rise.” _

_ Maz could see each emotion passing through Leia’s face. Surprise, fear, pain… rage. _

_ “You- you come here to tell me that my son, so far the last Skywalker is going to be a dark wizard?” Leia grabbed Ben tightly as if she could shield him from his destiny with her arms. _

_ Maz pressed her lips together. See. Tell. Don’t intervene.  _

_ “There’s more, Leia. He has a crucial place in history. But he won’t live a long life.” _

_ Leia snorted and stood up with Ben in her arms, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes with her robe sleeves. _

_ “That's it. You’re just trying to scare me. We- we just defeated a dark wizard and now you tell me that another one will rise? And that it's going to be my baby, my son _ _? And that he will die young?” _

_ Maz looked at her friend in silence. She hadn't said that exactly, but it was necessary that Leia believed that. All of this was necessary, Maz reminded herself. She contained a sad sigh. She had lived twice as long as Leia, and yet she had never felt as much pain as what was coming to Leia. To Ben. Maz's hair was turning completely white while Leia’s was still mahogany, like the baby in her arms, oblivious that he was the main theme of the awful conversation. If she could spare him… _

_ “I already have enough on my plate, Maz. I don’t need you to come and just vomit bad omens on my family. Please go away.” _

_ “Leia, Ben will turn--” _

_ “HE WON’T TURN FROM ANYTHING BECAUSE HE WON’T GO DARK.”  _

_ Leia’s outburst scared Ben, who started crying. _

_ “I won’t let it happen,” she said in a firm tone, caressing the baby’s dark curls, trying to soothe him. _

_ Maz sighed. She had anticipated Leia’s reaction. But there was another place in history. The girl that would show him the way. They just had to wait. _

_ “Go away. I don’t want you near Ben ever again.” _

The Maz from the present set down the clay woodpecker on the table, softly. 

_ See. Tell. Don’t intervene. _

  
  


Rey was sprinting, shoes barely touching the ground. She wanted to laugh, her face hurt from smiling so much. She was panting when she reached the park.

She could see Ben’s silhouette waiting under their tree. She screamed.

“BEN!”, grabbing the letter with one hand, running, her three buns bouncing.

His eyes immediately went to her and he ran towards her. She clearly miscalculated, because she ended up tackling Ben and they both fell in the grass.

“Rey? What the- Are you okay? I was beginning to think something happened to you, I-“

Rey’s face was red and she was panting. “BEN I’M GOING TO BE A WITCH. I’M GOING TO HOGWARTS.”

Rey saw Ben’s face relax with relief and his eyes beamed with something she couldn’t define. A mix of joy, happiness, pride, and something else.

“Damn straight you are, Niima”, he laughed.

Rey stood up from the grass and started pacing around, laughing and giving little jumps of joy, hugging her letter. Her golden ticket to a world of people like her.

“Rey?”

She stopped pacing and smiled at him. “Yes?”

“Happy Birthday”. He extended a hand, a small box on his palm.

She took it and smiled at him with infinite love, carefully opening it. It was a small crystal ball, with a white cloud on the inside, moving.

“What is it?”

He smiled. “It’s a remembrall. When you forget something important, the smoke inside turns red. If it’s white like now it’s because you aren’t forgetting anything.”

“This is the coolest thing ever, Ben. I love it.”

His ears turned red and he played with the grass. “It’s nothing. It would be more useful if it actually told you what you forgot-”

Ben’s stomach growled audibly, interrupting him. Rey looked at him.

“How long have you been waiting for me?”

He shrugged. 

“A while. I didn’t know what time you were coming so I didn't have lunch. You don’t have anything on you, do you?” He looked at her, noticing she wasn’t carrying her usual black bag.

Rey shook her head. “Do you want to come to my house? Maz baked a cake and Rose’s sister is coming.”

Ben’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. He grinned and got up in a heartbeat. They walked together back to Maz’s house.

“Wait, so who came to talk to you and Maz and explain everything?”

“No one”, said Rey, smiling. “Turns out Maz knew.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s a witch.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yeah, she even made something levitate in front of me and everything.”

“Whoa. Why didn’t she say something?”

“She said she wanted me to have a normal life or as much as she could provide”, Rey shrugged.

“Hmm.” Ben hummed, hands in his pockets.

Rey looked at him. “What?”

“I wonder if it’s the same Maz my mom mentioned one time. I didn’t think about it before because I didn’t know your Maz was a witch.”

Rey looked at him. “She mentioned something about knowing your mom a while ago, but that they had some kind of fallout.”

Ben looked at the floor. “Hmm. I don’t know, There could be hundreds of witches called Maz. They could know each other and still not be the witch I’m thinking about.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think she is.”

Rey frowned. “Why?”

Ben chuckled. “Leia said that Maz was a seer. I’ve seen a lot of them, including a teacher at Hogwarts, and believe me, you can recognize a seer a million miles away. They’re funny looking.”

“What do you mean? What do they look like? And why have you seen so many of them?”

He laughed. “They look like they are a bit cuckoo, Rey. I’m talking about necklaces made of corks, glasses made of glitter cardboard, etc.” Ben shrugged. “I don’t know, Leia used to have them over at the house a lot when I was little. Dad didn’t like it. He said it was just bunch of mumbo-jumbo.”

Rey’s frown deepened as they walked. “What was a a bunch of mumbo-jumbo?”

Ben tilted his head, trying to explain himself. “Well... allegedly.... seers can see the future or are constantly seeing things that are going to happen. Some look at tea leaves, some look at crystal balls, others use mirrors.” He shrugged. 

Rey nodded absently. “We’re here,” she smiled.

The kids' laughter brought a smile to Maz’s lips. Standing in the kitchen door, she watched as Rey argued with Ben over whether or not he had to go to Monopoly’s jail on the living room rug. It hadn’t been completely smooth at first, but some sandwiches and half of Rey’s chocolate cake had eased things and they all seemed to be starting to get along. And, more importantly, Rey was beaming with happiness. 

Maz smiled when she caught Ben discreetly hiding part of his paper money inside his pocket. An achievement, considering the boy was awkwardly big, with long arms and legs. She had a feeling he was letting Rey win.

Paige closed the fridge after helping herself with a slice of cake. Maz looked at the young witch, so similar to her sister, except for the pink hair.

“How’s it going?” She muttered. 

Paige looked at her while she swallowed. “It's hard. But Leia’s right, the best thing I can do right now is to try to get in the Auror’s office,” she said in a low voice.

Maz smiled. “I’m glad she advised you to do that.”

“You told me the same thing, the credit is yours.”

The old witch shook her head. 

“Maybe I could tell her to include you in the Order again, I could-” Paige started.

“Don’t.” Maz gave her a severe look. “Focus on your future, Paige. You’ve been training hard to become an Auror. Don’t let anything distract you.”

Paige nodded, taking another bite, smiling at the sight of her little sister laughing.

“Did Rey get her letter today?” She whispered.

“Yes. And Rose will get hers in a few weeks. I haven’t said anything to her yet, I wanted to ask you first.”

Paige considered it. “Let me take her away for her birthday. I want to tell her the story of our parents. And I want to take her to Diagon Alley too. Have a Tico sister's day.”

Maz nodded. Paige rubbed her tired back and kissed her white hair.

-o-

A few weeks later, Rey and Maz stepped out of the Knight Bus and headed towards The Leaky Cauldron. Maz paid with silver coins and hurried Rey to get inside the shop. Nobody took a second glance at her when the little bell rang announcing her entrance, despite that she was wearing non-magical clothes, unlike all the other wizards inside.

However, when Maz walked in, every conversation died and the room held a respectful silence. Rey looked at her curiously. 

“Madam Kanata.” Someone -the shop owner Rey suspected- bowed to the old witch. “May I offer you something? My best room is available-”

“Thank you, Tom. That won’t be necessary. We’re just going to Diagon Alley for the day.”

The bald innkeeper -Tom, apparently- bowed again and showed them the way to a small room with a brick wall. Rey noticed how people started talking again once they left the room.

“What was that? It seemed like everyone knows who you are."

“Just by name,” Maz said, tapping the wall with her wand.

The bricks turned one by one, revealing a wide gallery with small shops, one next to each other. Rey read the shop names, where they offered all sorts of magical items from quills to magical fertilizer for trees.

“Okay then,” Maz said, grabbing Rey’s school supply list from her purse. “I think it’s best if we start with your wand. We’ll get you a birthday present after that.”

Rey grinned. Finally, a magic wand of her own. 

They walked down the alley, looking for the shop. Rey noticed that people were still staring at Maz although not as much as in the pub. The alley wasn’t as crowded as she had expected it to be from Ben’s description, but it was probably because the school wouldn’t start until a few weeks. Busy wizards and witches walked from one shop to another, carrying bags of mysterious items. They stopped in front of a shop with peeling gold letters that read “Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.”

Maz opened the door of the empty shop and Rey followed her into a dim-lit, narrow and shabby room. It was a small place, with a single, spindly chair where Maz sat on to wait. Rey looked at her with a million questions dancing on her lips, but, intrigued by the silence, she looked up at the thousands of small boxes piled up from floor to ceiling on the walls, each containing magic secrets she wished to know. 

“Good afternoon, Madam Kanata,” said a soft voice. Rey was startled but Maz smiled knowingly. 

"Good afternoon, Ollivander," Maz answered to the old man standing before them with his big, pale eyes beaming like stars through the gloom of the shop.

Rey stared at him in silence. The shop owner's eyes laid on her and he tilted his head as if he recognized her from somewhere. 

“Ah,” said the man, looking at Maz. The silent exchange charged with significance made Rey’s hair cripple on her nape. The owner’s eyes moved to Rey. She wished he would blink and back off a little. To her relief, he did and directed his inquisitive eyes to the old witch.

“I’m certainly glad to see you again, Madam. Thala siren hair, oak, twelve inches, bendy, isn't it?”

“Precisely.”

“Powerful wand, yes, very powerful indeed. I trust you haven’t had any trouble with it?”

“Not at all. We’re only here for Rey,” Maz gestured at the girl.

Ollivanders eyes analyzed the girl up and down.

“Hmmm,” said Mr. Ollivander. “Well, Rey. Let me see.” He pulled a long tape measure with black markings out of his pocket. “Which is your wand arm?”

“I write with my right hand if that’s what you mean,” said Rey.

“Hold out your arm. That's it.” He measured Rey from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and round her head. 

As he measured, he said, “Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Rey. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons, in most cases. Every wand is different since every core comes from different creatures. The wand chooses the wizard, of course, but it tends to reflect the user’s personality. Some people believe it’s related to the destiny that the wizard will fulfill, but to each its own, don’t you think?”

Rey looked at him curiously, She had no idea a wand had so many elements to it and how personal it was to each wizard. 

“And, of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard’s wand.”

Mr. Ollivander stopped measuring her and started taking out boxes from the high shelves. He chose one and opened it in front of Rey’s anxious eyes.

“That one won’t work,” said Maz softly.

The shop owner seemed offended. “I beg your pardon, Madam, but I believe this is my field of expertise.”

Maz chuckled. “I didn’t mean to offend you, my dear Ollivander. I just think we could save some time.”

Ollivander hesitated.

Maz smiled. “How about if Rey tries that one and then she tries the one that I tell you?” 

The shop owner agreed and placed the wand in Rey’s hand. 

“Right then, Rey. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Come on now, give it a wave.”

Rey did as told, feeling foolish. Nothing happened. Ollivander seemed disappointed and Maz smiled. 

“I believe it’s my turn now. I suggest you try with a thestral hair core, Mr. Ollivander.”

Rey’s heart skipped a beat. A slow smile curved her lips, remembering that Ben’s wand had a thestral core. All coloring disappeared from the already pale shop owner.

“T-thestral hair? That’s very unusual, very unlikely to work properly with a wizard. Unseen for generations, actually, well, until-”

“Until last year,” Rey said, looking at the old man, who suddenly seemed intimidated. 

“That’s correct.” Ollivander tugged his fingers nervously. “Well, I guess there’s no harm in trying. Maybe, just maybe…”

He climbed into a fragile-looking ladder, searching in the tallest of shelves. “It’s here somewhere,” he muttered. “A very unusual combination, besides the already rare core.”

Ollivander pulled out a light-blue box covered in dust. He opened it and Rey watched the wand inside, hypnotized. Vaguely, she heard the shop owner’s voice far away from her. “Thestral hair core. Brylak wood. Eleven inches. Pliable. Excellent for transfiguration. Powerful, very powerful, most intriguing that this is an almost identical wand to the one that belonged to Anakin Skywalker.” 

Without thinking, Rey extended a hand and took the wand. She felt a warmth in her fingers and bright, golden, sparkly magic surrounding her, prickling her skin. She closed her eyes and shut her senses. The shop, Maz, Ollivander, all disappeared around her. The wand... it wanted to show her something.

There were only glimpses, passing almost too fast for her to recognize anything, but one image was clear and defined. Ben: older, taller, pointing his wand at something -or someone- and a ray of green light coming from it. Rey noticed he had a large scar on his face. Before she could say anything, the vision was gone. 

It was only the wand and her, warm and ready on her hand, like an extension of herself.

_ She had never felt more powerful. _

With a swirl, light-blue sparks shot from the end of the wand like fireworks, surrounding her body like energy rings. Rey smiled.

When she opened her eyes, Mr. Ollivander was looking at her with terrified eyes, practically hunched in a corner of his shop. Maz was smiling peacefully as if she had anticipated everything that was going to happen.

“It’s curious, isn’t it?” The old witch smiled at Rey. “How something so small can make us feel so…”

“Powerful,” Rey said.

“Complete,” Maz said at the same time.

They both looked at the old man who was looking at them with very wide, pale eyes. Maz chuckled.

“Don’t worry, old friend. We’ll be out of your way as soon as you wrap this up for Rey.”

Ollivander seemed to recover his composure and quickly wrapped the wand and box in a brown paper bag. When he finished his task he gave it to Rey. She held the bag but the shop owner didn’t let go. Rey looked into his pale eyes. He swallowed.

“The thestral-core wand I sold last year."

Rey's eyes narrowed. "Yes?"

"That core and yours are twins. They come from the same creature." The shop owner opened and closed his mouth several times, as if he was trying to decide to reveal something or not. Finally, he shook his head. "It's important you remember wands feel things, Rey.  They remember what they've done and by whose hand they’ve done it. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… .”

Rey opened her mouth to ask more but Ollivander disappeared quickly inside his shop, avoiding her eyes and questions.

Rey waited until they had walked outside the shop to attack Maz with questions.

“Why did Ollivander react like that? How did you know his wand wouldn’t work? Why are thestral cores so rare? Why do only Ben and I have them? Why are we different? Who’s Anakin Skywalker?”

“A lot of questions and no food. Let’s sit down and I’ll explain what I can, but keep in mind we still have a lot to buy before everything closes.”

They sat on a little table outside a pastel-colored shop with a sign that read Florean Fortescue. Rey ordered a brownie ice-cream and Maz black coffee. The old witch took a sip before she started talking.

“Anakin Skywalker was… a very powerful wizard who made the wrong choices for the right reasons. He ended up changing his name, the rest of the wizarding world knows him by another one… but he never stopped being little Anakin Skywalker to me.”

“You knew him?”

“I did. He took a great interest in dark magic and became very known. Caused a lot of pain to many families. Mr. Ollivander reacted that way because your wand has the same core and is made of the same wood as the one he used to have.”

Rey ate a spoonful of the chocolate goodness. “Is that bad? Does it mean that I’m-”

“No, child. Wands choose the wizard, yes, but they don’t determine your future.”

Rey nodded in silence.

“As far as thestral hair cores being so unusual, I really couldn’t say. I’m no expert, but it is my understanding that only very powerful witches and wizards have been chosen by wands with that core. And in all cases, the one who carried it changed history or became very known… whether for good or bad reasons, it varies. The one who carries it usually has a great destiny.”

“So… you could say Ben and I are destined for great things?”

Maz chuckled. “Wands don’t decide our destiny, Rey. But if you ask me… then I’d say that yes, I believe that.”

-o-

A few weeks later, Rey knocked on the Solo’s front door in the morning, a present on her arm. Han opened the door with a coffee mug in one hand.

“Hey, kid. Nice to see you coming through the front door for once.”

Rey chuckled. “Hey, Mr. Solo. Is Ben available?”

“Sure, sure. I think he’s been waiting for you since the sun came up.” He rolled his eyes. “The kid has his mom’s nerves, I swear.”

Rey smiled at him and walked into the house while he closed the door behind her. Han wasn’t in the house frequently, but he had tried to make her comfortable in his own awkward way and she appreciated it.

“Han? Do you think Ben will want to wait for Rey to-”

Leia’s frame showed up in the hallway, very neatly dressed, as the last time Rey had seen her. The older witch smiled at her.

“Hello, dear. I’ll let Ben know-”

“Rey?” Ben’s voice -and then body- appeared down the stairs. Somehow, he seemed even taller than the last time Rey had seen him, barely two days ago. As he got closer, Rey noticed he smelled different.  _ Was he wearing perfume? _

She shook her head and smiled at him, offering the present. “Happy Birthday.” Ben’s hazels were fixed on hers. Rey thought she probably would’ve hugged him if his parent's eyes weren’t looking at them with such curiosity.

Han cleared his throat and walked away muttering something about a final detail and Leia went into the kitchen saying she was going to put the cake on the table.

Ben smiled at her and unwrapped her present with infinite care. He gasped when he realized what it was. “Wizard's chess! Another game to beat you in, huh?”

“Another game for you to lose, Solo.” She grinned back.

Leia’s voice called them to sit at the table.

  
  


“Okay, kid, here’s the deal. Your uncle Lando and I have been looking for something very special and we finally found it. It’s in the backyard, so Rey and you can check it out after-”

Before Han could finish the phrase Ben and Rey stood up from the table and hurried outside, where a broom was suspended mid-air, waiting to be mounted. They both gasped, looking at it from every possible angle.

Ben smiled and placed a hand on the clearly old and battered, yet powerful-looking broom. The gold letters read “Millenium Falcon”. 

“How about that, Ben? Now you can try out for Quidditch like your old man, using the broom that helped us win the World Championship in 1998.” Han was looking at his son and palmed his back with pride.

Ben pressed his lips together. Rey noticed how the wind shifted from a warm breeze to a violent lash in mere seconds. 

“Ben? Do you want to go to the park and try it? There isn’t much space here.” She suggested.

He nodded and walked holding his broom in one hand. He gave a tense smile to his father before almost storming out of the house with Rey by his side. They sprinted to their tree, both panting when they reached it.

“Talk to me, Ben.”

“I’m tired, Rey. I’m tired of just living under everyone else’s expectations. I’m tired of being known over someone else, I’m tired of just… trying to fulfill a role I don’t know if I want.”

Rey nibbled her lip, not really understanding what he meant but wanting to be there for him nevertheless. Ben stopped pacing and looked at her with a peaceful smile.

“I’m sorry. This birthday isn’t too much fun, huh?”

“Don’t apologize. You can do whatever you want. It’s your day, after all.”

Ben looked at her with intense eyes. He shook his head and pointed at the broom laying on the grass. “Let’s give it a try, shall we?”

They walked deeper into the park until they reached an area covered with trees except for a small space. Rey looked at him with curious eyes. Ben positioned himself over the broom and smiled at her with excited eyes. He kicked the grass with one foot and elevated himself 3 feet from the ground, laughing, pure joy echoing through the trees. Rey smiled and laughed while he elevated himself over the trees. He gave a few circles and then landed, laughing.

“Go on, Niima, give it a try”, he said, extending his arm to her.

Rey grabbed the handle nervously. The broom was vibrating, she could feel the magic running through it. She smiled.

“Don’t be scared. It just follows what you want to do.”

Rey looked at him, offended, and put a leg over the broom. 

“Scared? Let’s see what this thing can do, Solo.” 

She stomped the grass like Ben. Her stomach stayed on the ground and her body elevated in the air. She felt excitement sparkle in her chest and laughed. Ben was wooing up at her from the grass and Rey suddenly felt the urge of exploring, of going further.

The broom heard her and she laughed while she flew over the pond, her fingers running through water. She breathed deeply, hearing Ben’s laugh not far away. 

Rey smiled. She felt alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap on PART I!
> 
> after my small break, we'll continue with PART II: Hogwarts
> 
> are we excited? what do you think is gonna happen? what did you like about this chapter? 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there <3  
> Writing break is over! This chapter is pretty long, but hopefully not -too- long
> 
> As always, a special thank you to my wonderful beta, danica (you're the best, ily❤️) 
> 
> Let's go

**PART II**

* * *

The last few weeks at Maz’s were busy. She had made sure that both Rey and Rose had absolutely everything they needed for school. Paige would come and visit more frequently, often taking both Rey and Rose out for ice-cream or to the nearby lake when the sun was shining. Rey still spent most of her afternoons with Ben, though; reading, practicing their magic and trying to teach tricks to Rey's new cat, Beebee. 

Rey even tried to teach Ben how to bake cookies on his birthday, per his request, an occasion that ended up with Han having to extinguish the small fire in the kitchen. They still ended up eating the burnt dough while they read Rey's new - _second hand_ , but new to her- school books. She found them fascinating.

She laid on his bed reading them late into the night, Beebee climbing in and out of the open window of Rey's shared bedroom as he pleased. It was lucky that Maz didn’t come in to vacuum anymore, because Beebee kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before she went to sleep, Rey ticked off another day on the piece of paper she had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.

Finally, the day had arrived and Maz had woken up the girls very early so the other kids wouldn't ask any questions. Rey pull on her black jeans because she didn’t want to walk into the station in her witch robes - she’d change on the train. Rose and her checked their lists yet again to make sure they had everything they needed. Rey made sure Beebee was shut safely in his cat carrier before they had breakfast. Maz made chocolate chip pancakes. Rey understood it was her way of saying goodbye.

A while later, they gathered all their things and travelled to London. They reached King’s Cross at half past ten. 

Rose’s owl - Thanya-, propped on top of one of the carts was attracting looks from passers by but Maz didn’t pay attention. The old lady eyed her watch.

“She should be here, any minute now.” She muttered.

Paige’s pink hair ran towards them, dressed in white, spotless robed outfit. Rey frowned, confused. She never dressed like that before. She was used to seeing her in jeans and t-shirts.

“I’m here! Sorry, I was held back. Let’s go, shall we?”

Paige kissed her little sister’s cheek and together, they rolled the cart into the wall between platform 9 and 10. Rey almost screamed, thinking they would crash, but they disappeared through the brick wall.

Maz squeezed her hand. 

_Our turn._

Gripping tight onto her cart, Rey and Maz ran full speed towards the wall and… didn’t crash.

The white smoke of the handsome train; The Hogwarts Express, filled the air over the 9 ¾ platform. They rolled the cart towards where Paige and Rose were standing talking.

“Madam Kanata!” Someone called.

Maz rolled her eyes at Rey when she realized who was calling her. “Wait here, child. I’ll be right back.”

Rey nodded. Maz smiled - the wrinkles around her eyes deepened - and walked away with her back straight and nose up. Rey’s eyes scanned through the crowd nervously, looking for Ben. He probably was already on the train.

A meow distracted her from her search. Rey opened the carrier and grabbed Beebee. She smiled at the fat orange tabby on her arms. Maz had offered her a birthday present from Diagon Alley but Rey, knowing how tight money was, politely declined. When they were back at the house, a rustling in the trash cans on the driveway turned out to be a lonely stray orange cat looking for food.

_"He looks hungry. Can we feed him?" She had pleaded._

_"Oh hush, just bring him inside, child. Open a can of tuna in the kitchen."_

Rey was determined to find the cat a home, but after a few days the tabby followed her everywhere and Maz suggested she kept it.

Maz warned her that the cat wouldn’t be staying inside. And she stayed true to her word, leaving a small bed out of old blankets, food and water in the backyard from day one. But Beebee managed to sneak inside to sleep on Rey’s bed, by her feet, every night.

Beebee looked at her with his deep black eyes before jumping onto the platform and running inside the train.

“Are you going to fetch him, Rey?” Rose grinned, holding her sister’s hand, who was waving to another family of wizards. Maz walked to them and muttered something in Paige’s ear.

“No, that’s fine. I’ll find him afterwards.” Rey smiled nervously, trying to hide her anxiousness. Maz eyed her.

“Rose? Why don’t you go find him? Take Rey’s trunk too. Maybe see if there’s a compartment available. The train will leave soon.” Maz suggested.

The Tico sisters hugged tightly, Paige’s bright pink hair contrasting against Rose’s dark hair. They held each other for a moment before Paige let go, caressing her sisters’ back. Rose grinned, disappearing into the crowd. Paige winked at the older witch and Rey, granting her the subtly asked space.

“What is it, Rey?” 

She looked into the wise, knowing eyes. 

Rey was looking forward to seeing Ben Solo. _Hadn’t they made plans to meet at the platform?_ Ben had told her that there was nothing to be nervous about as he would be there to show her onto the train and guide her with her first Hogwarts experience. But with no sign of him, Rey could not stop the tight feeling in her chest. _How could she explain how she felt to Maz?_ Maz who had been so helpful to Rey and Rose. Done more that she could have ever asked of. The shrill train whistle suddenly rang in their ears, alerting them that the train would soon be departing. Rey lowered her eyes to the second-hand witch robes she was holding in her hands, the carefully-sewn small holes in her sleeves. 

“What if-”

_What if I don’t fit in?_

_What if I don’t make any friends?_

_What if I don’t get in any of the “good” houses?_

Once Rose had found out she too was a witch, they had spent long afternoons with Paige talking about the wizarding world and Hogwarts. Hogwarts and its houses. Paige had been a proud Hufflepuff, but she had spoken highly of every house, before mentioning Slytherin’s bad reputation, being known as the house that had birthed the most number of evil wizards and witches.

Maz cupped Rey’s face with her soft hands, caressing her cheeks with her thumbs. Rey looked at her with wide, surprised eyes, - to at all used to the physical affection - but didn’t move back.

“My dear child,” Maz’s eyes beamed with certainty. “It’s not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices. Never forget that.”

Rey threw herself into the witches’ arms, hugging her closely as more and more students ran past and into the train, lugging their trunks and parcels.

“Don’t worry, darling.” Maz whispered in her ear. “Neither me nor Ben will stop loving you if you are sorted into Slytherin. I can assure you that.”

Rey frowned. _How did she-_

The whistle blew again. Maz patted her back awkwardly, signaling Rey it was time to let go.

“Go on then, you’ll miss the train.”

Rey nodded, an unexpected knot bobbing in her throat as she unwrapped her arms around the witches’ frame.

“Thank you, Maz. For everything.”

The witch gave her a sad smile, gesturing to her to hurry. Rey jumped on the train just in time, right before it started to leave King’s Cross station. She waved at the small figure of the woman that had welcomed her in her house with open arms, saying a silent goodbye as she left behind the old witch and the old Rey, the little girl who was terrified to use her powers. She smiled. With every turn of the train wheels, she was getting closer to her new life.

Maz watched the Hogwarts Express disappear in the vast mountains, a fine column of white smoke in the horizon. She should be happy, knowing her little birds were flying from the nest, testing their wings.

She _should_ be happy.

The future wasn’t carved in stone, things could always change. But she _couldn’t_ intervene. 

Maz sighed.

Paige’s hand tenderly squeezed her tired shoulder. Maz grabbed her hand and looked at her with sad eyes.

_Don’t intervene._

Paige smiled at her, unaware of the dark turn of her thoughts, confusing it with merely emotion for the goodbye. “They will be alright. They’ll take care of each other.”

Maz nibbled her lip, looking at the witch' pink hair. She nodded.

“Interesting idea, the cat.” Paige chuckled. "You were right, Rey would not let you spend money on an animal. She had to adopt it." 

Maz smiled sadly. "I hope it will keep her company."

Rey walked down the train corridor, eyes fixed on the floor, scanning through legs hoping to catch a glimpse of orange fluff. 

“Here, Rey!” Rose’s voice called her from one of the cabins.

She raised her eyes to the smiling girl sitting next to her owl. To her surprise, she wasn’t alone. A boy with a dark complexion and broken glasses smiled nervously at her. Rey noticed he had a plant gripped firmly in his hands, over his lap.

“Hi.”

“Hi, I’m Rey.” She smiled back. 

The boy seemed to relax his shoulders a bit.

“I’m Finn.”

“Finn was just telling me about his cacti.” Rose intervened, grinning, looking at the potted plant. “He says it can sense when bugs are around to catch and eat them.”

Rey chuckled. “That’s pretty cool. I was looking for Beebee, have you seen him?”

Rose frowned. “I don’t think so, but you should ask around. He isn’t exactly small, someone must’ve seen him.”

Rey nodded. “I’ll see if maybe Ben knows. Be right back.” She turned around but came back a second after. “Nice to meet you, Finn.”

The boy waved awkwardly to her.

Rey walked to the bathroom and changed clothes. She walked down the aisle scanning for her cat. She was so concentrated looking at the floor she stumbled upon a tall figure. Rey almost lost balance, but a firm hand caught her.

“Niima.” Ben smiled, his eyes warmer than sun. “I was looking for you.”

“Hey.” She muttered, noticing she had to look up. _Was he even taller?_ Rey shook her head, composing herself. “I was trying to find Beebee, have you seen him?”

Ben rolled his eyes, a smile. “Yep. Follow me.”

Rey noticed several pairs of eyes lingering on him and some curious on her. It bothered her for some reason. She tugged at her three buns, wondering if they were looking at her second-hand robes.

Ben opened a cabin door, where the orange tabby was sprawled across a boy's lap, tummy up, purring with his eyes closed. A shot of jealousy jumped into her. She had never seen him so relaxed.

The boy was scratching the cat’s head, humming him a song, ignoring them at the door. _As if he was a baby_. Rey rolled her eyes.

“That’s my cat.”

The boy raised his eyes at them. He had an olive complexion, with deep-set brown eyes. “I think the cat would disagree.” He scratched the cat’s ears, humming. “Wouldn’t you?”

Rey crossed her arms over her chest. Ben chuckled.

“Niima, this is Poe Dameron.” 

Poe raised his head fast. “Niima? As in Rey Niima? _The_ Rey Niima?”

Rey looked at him with confused eyes, her arms still over her chest. “Yes?”

Poe grinned looking at Ben, raising his eyebrow. “The Rey Niima that Solo wrote to all year?” He chuckled.

Ben cleared his throat. Rey felt her cheeks heat up. _What the hell did this idiot care about their relationship?_ She narrowed her eyelids, tightening her fists. 

“Give me my cat back.”

Poe ignored her, playing with Beebee.

Ben strode into the cabin and grabbed the tabby from Poe’s lap, who was meowing, protesting from the cuddles taken away from him. He scratched his ears and the cat curled its head against his chest. Rey smiled. Ben grinned back. 

“Where are you sitting?”

“Other side of the train.”

“Can we come?”

“ _We?_ ” Poe protested.

Ben shrugged. “Do what you want. I’m going there. I suggest you do the same if you want to keep playing with the cat.” He looked at her. “Let’s go.”

Rey gave Poe a smug smile and guided them to the compartment with Rose and Finn, the latter of whom was laughing over something Rey didn’t hear. Finn’s laughter died quickly and his eyes widened like plates when he saw who was with Rey.

Rose grinned. “Hey you found Beebee! Hi, Ben. Who's this?”

“Poe Dameron.” Poe answered, looking at Finn with a sly grin, taking a seat next to him.

Ben smiled at Rose and left the cat on her arms. “I’m going to see if the trolley witch has food, do you want anything?” He asked looking at Rey.

“Hmm. A chocolate frog, maybe?” Rey searched in her pocket, giving him a couple of Knuts Maz had given her to get something from the cart. 

“Gotcha.” He winked at her, accepting the coins and walking away. 

Rey sat besides Rose. Finn almost popped out of his seat. 

“Was that _Benjamin Solo_ ? Benjamin _Organa_ Solo?”

Rose chuckled. “Yeah. He lives in our neighborhood.”

“You are neighbors with Ben Solo!?” Finn nearly screamed.

Rey looked at him with curious eyes. “What’s wrong? That’s just Ben.”

“Yeah, that’s just Solo.” Poe huffed. “But I’m his best friend if you’re interested in that.” He shrugged. Rey hid a smile.

“No, no, there’s nothing wrong. He’s like.. a legend. The son of _legends_. His bloodline is like royalty in the wizarding world.” Finn shook his head, exhaling with a chuckle. “I can’t believe you call him Ben.”

Rey looked at Finn. She had no idea Ben was such a big deal. _Maybe that’s why everyone was staring at him earlier_. Still, she was sure Ben could not be enjoying all this attention from people.

Poe shrugged, playing with Beebee who had jumped onto his lap again. “Yeah, his family is famous but he’s cool.”

“How do you know about Ben’s family, Finn?” Rey asked.

“Granny told me when I was little, the stories of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, defeating You-Know-Who.”

Poe nodded, knowingly. Rey nibbled her lip. She didn’t understand fully, but she didn’t feel comfortable looking like an idiot in front of Poe. She would ask Finn later.

Ben opened the door with his foot, arms full of Chocolate Frogs, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands and probably half of the witch's cart. Rey had never seen that many chocolate frogs in her life, only a couple Ben had offered her while they read together under their tree over the summer. And she was sure her coins didn’t pay for all that. She looked at him as he left the goodie mountain on the cabin table while the others gasped and commented, raising an eyebrow. Ben winked at her. 

“The cart lady let you take all the chocolate frogs from this year and more?” Poe grinned, taking one and opening it.

“I’m pretty charming.” Ben shrugged. 

“You wish, Solo.”

Rey chewed half her frog watching Rose open hers. She gasped when the chocolate animal jumped.

“You have to catch it, Rosie!”

“Too late.” The frog jumped out of the opened window. “ Bad luck. Try another one.” Finn suggested.

“There’s a card inside!” Rose exclaimed.

“Yeah, each frog comes with a character card inside. Famous witches or wizards. I have a huge collection at home. My brother collects them too, he’s pretty proud to now show up in one. Who did you get?” Poe asked, taking a look at Rose’s hands.

“Qui Gon Jinn.” Rose read out loud, holding the card of a middle-aged man with very long hair, between her fingers. “Allegedly the first wizard known to make his hair grow at will.”

Finn chuckled. “That reminds me of the time I grew my hair overnight. Granny gave me a really bad haircut, but the next day my hair was back to its usual state. That’s how we knew I was a wizard too.” Poe smiled. “How did you find out, Poe?”

“Pedro -my brother- was playing Quidditch in the backyard, throwing balls through rings on a broom. He was like 15 at the time, already captain of his team. I was 7, I think. I grabbed another broom and tried to fly like him. It worked for a while, but I lost balance and nearly killed myself when I fell from the broom. I stopped in the air right before I hit the ground though. What about you, Rose?”

The little girl blushed. “I make birds from clay. One day, I was trying to make a really small, thin beak for a hummingbird but couldn’t do it. But I felt like this energy through my hands, so I used that to mold it. And it worked. I ran and told Rey.” She smiled.

“And what did you do, Rey?”

Rey nibbled her lip. “I didn’t say anything. I thought she wouldn’t believe me if I said she was a witch. I decided to wait to see if she got a letter on her birthday, to have actual physical proof that what I was saying wasn’t completely crazy.”

“Ooh that’s when you knew? You got a letter? Or someone from Hogwarts went to your house and explained everything?”

Rey shook her head, smiling. She looked at Ben. “Neither. Actually, Ben was the first to tell me I was a witch.”

He smiled back at her, staring at her hazels with beaming eyes. Rey noticed he had a little chocolate besides his lip.

“Ben?” Poe asked, confused.

Ben looked at her. Rey knew he wouldn’t reveal anything about the things she had told him. He would keep her secrets. She wanted to answer the question, but maybe just enough to prevent them from asking more.

“He was the first person I saw doing something… magical. I, um, had trouble in the past doing it. I didn’t try to, didn’t mean to, but sometimes it got out of my control. Sometimes bad things happened. And it got worse because I was scared.”

They all stayed silent, the mood of the room had completely shifted, the exact opposite of what she wanted. She felt the sudden urge to say something, anything that would drift the conversation to bug-eating-cactus or chocolate frogs.

“She’s a pretty good neighbor. Besides having questionable book taste.”

“You lent me those books!” She grinned.

“Well, that just proves we need to read more books together, Niima.” He whispered, opening yet another chocolate frog.

She smiled, imitating him.

He frowned when he saw the card inside. 

"What is it?" Rey muttered, while Rose and Finn talked about the house they were hoping to get in. 

Ben showed her the card of a young man with a serious smile. He had a scar on the right side of his face. There was something familiar about him. His jaw, maybe. Or the intense stare. Something about him reminded her of Ben. Rey read the name. 

"Anakin Skywalker." 

Maz's voice came to her memories. _"Anakin Skywalker. He is known by another name now by the wizarding world, but he was always little Anakin Skywalker to me. Made the wrong choices for the right reasons."_

Rey hadn't had a chance to tell him much about her trip to Diagon Alley, since Maz had kept Rose and her very busy the last couple of weeks. She opened her mouth to tell Ben that apparently her wand, tucked safely in her robes, was very similar to Anakin's, but he interrupted her before she could say a word. 

"It's the third time in a row I got this card."

Rey looked at him, confused. "That's weird. I've gotten this one many times too."

She showed him the three cards with the name "Sheev Palpatine" on the bottom. 

"What are you two whispering about?" Rose intervened.

Rey shoved her cards into her pocket. Ben shrugged, discreetly hiding his cards up his sleeve. "Just cards."

"Ooooh, look at this one! I've never seen it before!" Poe showed the card around. Anakin Skywalker. Rey gave Ben a side eye. "I wonder why don't they just put 'Darth Vader' on it."

Finn gasped, covering his mouth. Poe rolled his eyes and extended it to Ben. 

"Do you want it, Solo? He's your grandpa, after all."

 _Grandpa?_

The cabin door opened while Ben was hurling a speech full of curses directed at Poe. Rey raised her eyes to a middle-aged witch, dressed in velvet emerald green robes, looking at Ben with a disapproving raised eyebrow. 

"I suggest you keep that fowl language out of Hogwarts, Mr. Solo."

Ben looked at her with a very unconvincing look of apology. "Won't happen again, Professor Holdo."

The witch nodded. Her eyes scanned the smaller kids in the cabin. "We will be arriving very soon, all the first years are lining up so we can have a smooth arrival. You need to be on the other side of the train."

Rose and Finn stood up, grabbing their few personals. Rey looked at Ben. She had so many questions, but they would have to wait again. There were other things more important now, like sorting ceremonies. He nodded and gave her a little smile, as if he knew what she was thinking. Rey stood up. 

"I can take care of Beebee until after dinner." Poe offered her the orange tabby on his arms. Rey scratched his head and looked at Poe. She nodded, deciding to trust him. Plus, she doubted they allowed her to get sorted with a giant fat cat on her lap. "I'll see you afterwards." She whispered to the cat before following Finn and Rose. 

  
  


Ben watched Rey's buns disappear after the Head of Slytherin. The cards felt as heavy as they were made of lead on his sleeve. Dread had settled in his stomach from the first Anakin card he had drawn, only getting worse with each one he had opened. 

_Fuck._

_Maybe he could tell Snoke about it._ He discarded the idea. _He would probably just say it was his childish mind playing tricks._

"Why did you have to say that he was my grandfather?" 

Poe looked at him confused. "What's the problem? Everyone knows that." 

"Not everyone. Not Rey."

Understanding dawned on Poe's face. "Ah, shit. Sorry, dude." He scratched Beebee's ears. "If it's any consolation, she would've found out soon enough. Gossip runs fast here."

Ben nibbled his lip. He wanted to talk to her, explain why he hadn't mentioned it all those months ever since they met, but he was scared to see the fear and rejection in her eyes. He wasn't ready to lose her, least of all now that she was going to Hogwarts like him. 

He would come around to it. 

Eventually.

A voice echoed through the train: “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.”

Rey’s stomach lurched with nerves and Rose, she saw, looked a little pale. They joined the crowd thronging the corridor.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out onto a tiny dark platform. Rey shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Rey heard a rough voice: “Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here! C’mon, follow me - any more firs’ years? Mind yer step, now! Firs’ years follow me!”

They saw a huge man with a big hairy face beaming over the sea of heads, gesturing for them to follow him. Slipping and stumbling, they followed the man down to what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Rey thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.

“Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec,” the man called over his shoulder. “jus’ around this bend here.”

Rey’s mouth opened and there was a loud “Ooooh!”.

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

“No more’n four to a boat!” The tall man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Rey and Rose were followed into their boat by Finn and a girl with long flaming red hair.

“Everyone in?” shouted the man, who had a boat to himself. “Right then - FORWARD!”

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. They reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after the tall man’s lamp, coming out at the last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. After checking every student was there, the bearded man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, purple-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. Rey recognized her as the witch from the train, Professor Holdo. She had a very stern face. Rey thought that this was not someone to cross.

“The firs’ years, Professor Holdo.” The man said.

“Thank you. I will take them from here. All first years, form a line here, please.”

Rey stood behind the girl with long red hair, nervously nibbling her lip. Rose, behind her, noticed it and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Rey inhaled and exhaled. _It would be okay._ Hopefully, Rose and her would end up in the same house. She didn’t really care about which house she would be sorted in, as long as she had a friend there.

“I’m Professor Holdo, Head of Slytherin.” The tall witch smiled at the nervous faces of the students looking at her. “As you all know, Hogwarts divides their students in four houses: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.”

Rey swallowed.

“Each house represents different values and you’ll find yourself at home, wherever you’re sorted in.” Professor Holdo’s eyes tried to comfort the nervous students, lingering a little longer in Rey.

“We will go inside the Great Hall now for the sorting ceremony. For now, the older students will be seated at their house tables, but everyone mixes after the first days, so don’t worry if you don’t get sorted with your friends.” Holdo winked at them. Despite her stern outside, Rey thought she was trying her best to make them feel more comfortable.

_Inhale, exhale. Everything will be okay._

The Head of Slytherin opened the floor-to-ceiling doors with both hands and gestured to the line of students to walk inside. Rey saw four long tables with already seated older students looking with curious eyes. She grabbed Rose’s hand tighter and scanned the table with blue ties, looking for Ben, unsuccessfully.

Professor Holdo led them all the way up to a table at the end of the hall, which Rey assumed was the teacher’s table. In front of it stood a stool with a very old, very ragged, hat. 

_Ah. The sorting hat Ben had mentioned_.

“I will be calling each of you up one by one in alphabetical order according to your last name. When I say your name, please approach the stool.” Professor Holdo said, a long parchment unrolling in her hands.

“Abbot, Hannah!” 

A small blonde girl walked nervously to the stool. The hat had barely touched her head when it yelled “HUFFLEPUFF!”. The table with yellow ties clapped loudly, celebrating the first addition to their house.

The list continued, passing through Connix, Kaydel - the redhead in front of her, welcomed by a round of applause from the Slytherin's- and Del Rey, Lana. And then…

“Longbottom, Finn!”

Rey watched as the boy shuffled through the crowd, the potted cactus still in his trembling hands. He sat on the stool and Professor Holdo placed the sorting hat on his head. After a few seconds, the hat yelled:

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The table next to them roared and clapped loudly. Rey noticed with a smile the boy’s cheeks were almost as red as the colors of his new house. He sat down on the table with a few pats on his back and gestured a thumbs up to Rey, cheering her up. 

A few names after, Professor Holdo pronounced:

“Niima, Rey!”

Rey felt a warm squeeze in her hand. Rose had her back. Whatever house she got sorted. And Ben.

_Where was he?_

She walked slowly towards the hat, scanning the Ravenclaw table. As she sat, she finally caught sight of him, looking directly at her with a warm grin. His deep dimples made her smile. _It would be okay. She probably would get sorted with him._

Professor Holdo placed the sorting hat on top of her head. Rey heard a voice muttering in her ear.

“Ah, I see. Very interesting bloodline. Ambition, a lot of ambition. Smart, very capable. Hmm.. resourceful. Cunning. Where will I put you? I see you don’t really have a preference, child. You just want to belong.”

Rey felt uncomfortable listening to the hat analyze, as if all her secrets were opened and exposed for everyone to see. 

“You would be happy in any house, child, but I know exactly where you belong, yes. You’ll be a… SLYTHERIN!”

Rey’s heart dropped to her stomach. She was barely aware of Professor Holdo removing the hat from her head and the applause from the Slytherin table, where she walked towards in a sort of trance. 

_Slytherin?_

Her eyes seeked Ben’s across the Great Hall. He nodded and smiled, reassuring her they were okay. She looked at Rose, still standing in line, waiting to be called. Rey doubted Rose was sorted in Slytherin. And Finn and Poe were sitting together at the Gryffindor table.

Which meant she was alone.

Maybe not.

She waited patiently for Rose’s turn. Each house received more students with loud demonstrations of celebration, and then finally Professor Holdo said:

“Tico, Rose!”

Rose walked with firm steps towards the hat and placed it on top of her head. Barely a few seconds after, the sorting hat screamed:

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Rose gave a sad glance to Rey but she tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Yes, she was alone.

_Did the sorting hat make a mistake?_

Rey felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Professor Holdo’s big beautiful eyes.

“Welcome to Slytherin, Rey.” The witch smiled.

Through the corner of her eye, she noticed a witch at the professor’s table standing up in front of a podium, dressed in velvet burgundy and gold robes. Ben’s mom. The witch lightly cleared her throat and at once every single head turned in her direction.

“Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I know we’re all hungry, so I won’t keep you too long. For those who don’t know me, I am Hogwarts Headmistress Professor Leia Organa. Just a few notices before we tuck into our delicious feast. First, the Forbidden Forest is, very clearly -she looked at the Gryffindor table, especially in Poe’s direction- forbidden to all students. Second, the library has been newly renovated, we have now expanded to almost double the number of volumes on our shelves. Our librarian, Madam Pince, is always happy to help those who need it. Third, the annual Yule Ball will take place mid-December, so I’m sure you all have that to look forward to! And finally, third years remember to turn in your Hogsmeade visit permission slips to the Head of Houses. First years, don’t hesitate to ask any questions from your House Heads. They’re there to help.” Leia smiled. “Now, let’s stop talking and dig in!”

With the click of her fingers, food appeared on the table. Plates and plates full of all kinds of dishes Rey could possibly imagine. But her head wasn’t there. She sucked her teeth. It would be awfully sad if she just walked away and sat in one of the other tables with her friends. _No._ She shook her head. _She would be okay._

Rey took a deep breath and grabbed a chicken thigh with her fork.

After a few bites, Rey noticed she was sitting next to the same redhead she was standing next to in line before getting sorted, Kaydel, she thought her name was. With a quick glance, she noticed she looked every bit as sad as her. 

_Maybe that wasn’t the right moment to introduce herself._

Rey exhaled. She needed a little space. The Great Hall was too full and too hot. She got up while everyone was still eating and exited the room before realizing she had forgotten to ask where the bathroom was. _Perfect._

A low chuckle came from a dark corner. A redhead boy, with a cruel smirk stood besides her.

“Oh, Hi. Do you know where the bath-”

The boy looked at her up and down, scrunching up his nose as if some odor was bothering him terribly.

“I heard they were letting mudbloods in this year. And a poor one, even worse.”

Rey froze, her eyes fixed on the boy, ice running through her spine. She wasn’t sure what “mudblood” meant, but she was entirely certain that it was not a compliment. _What the-_

The boy looked at her up and down again. He chuckled. “You can’t even afford a proper uniform. Clearly, you don’t belong-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish the phrase. Rey extended a hand in front of her and the boy was expelled back against the wall, his hands reaching for his neck. Rey exhaled and dropped her hand, panting. She stormed inside the Great Hall again.

 _What the fuck? Was she supposed to tell Professor Holdo?_ She hesitated. She didn’t want to look like a snitch on her first day. No, she could deal with him, no need to alert anyone.

She took a seat and grabbed a slice of apple pie.

“First years, this way, please!”

One of the older Slytherin students with a shiny badge on his chest, gestured to the first years to follow him through a door outside of the Entrance Hall and down stone steps leading towards the dungeons. They walked behind him as he talked.

“The common room is under the lake, down here. The password changes each fortnight. Your schedule will be handed over tomorrow morning. I suggest you try to get some sleep because you’ll probably need it trying to find your way to your classes. This is a big castle after all. Boys and girls dormitories are separated, you’ll find your belongings besides each bed. If you have any questions, you can ask me or another prefect.”

The prefect pronounced “bezoar” in front of a bare stretch of stone wall revealing a passage and Rey walked into her common room.

The first thing she noticed were the crystal chandeliers hanging from above, floor-to-ceiling dark crystals -windows under the lake-, surrounded by heavy velvet emerald curtains. She suspected the sunlight gave the room a green-ish light during the day. 

Dark wood shelves filled with leather covered books lined the walls, and black leather couches were placed in front of a handsome marble fireplace. She noticed there was a vinyl record player in one corner, very similar to the one Ben had in his living room, with a pile of records besides it.

The decor was just on the border of too much. Although she could not deny it was beautiful and grand. 

Still, with everything that had happened today, she just needed a good night’s sleep. She would explore it further tomorrow. With a sigh, she sat on her bed. Somehow, Beebee had found his way back to her. Rey scratched his head. 

“It will all be okay, right?” She muttered to the animal.

Beebee purred, looking at her with his deep black eyes.

Rey sighed again, put her pyjamas on and tucked herself into the blankets. A silent tear rolled down her cheeks and into her hair. She pressed her lips together. 

_It would be okay._

With the comforting weight of Beebee sleeping over the covers besides her, Rey fell asleep.

Ben spat out blood, standing up. Snoke was making him duel with older, more skilled Ravenclaws, clearly more experienced than he was. The last attack had expelled him to the floor, hitting him over the mouth.

_Didn’t matter. He would learn. He would beat them all. He had to be strong, to hone his skill._

_He would make everyone proud._

Ben raised his wand again, too slow. The spell from the other boy hit him right in the stomach, making him fall over. 

_Fuck._

“Again!” He growled at the other student, standing up. With a glance to the side, he watched Snoke nod approvingly at his perseverance. The wizard stood up besides him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Welcome back, Ben.”

Ben smirked, split lip glowing red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back, baby *winks*
> 
> I'm going to ask my readers to PLEASE trust me, I promise stuff will make more sense once we go further down the story, DON'T YELL AT ME ON THE COMMENTS (joke, I love to read all comments <3)  
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there
> 
> Let's start 2021 with an update, shall we? (Hopefully, from now on I'll be updating every 2 weeks, if that's a matter of concern to you)
> 
> Special thank you -and round of applause- to Danica and Tricia, who agreed to beta this chapter <3
> 
> Let's go

_ _

_ “Oh, let me know that at least you will try.” _

_ Scarborough Fair/Canticle - Simon & Garfunkel _

* * *

“Rise and shine, first-years.”

Rey opened her heavy eyelids. The forest green ceiling and stone walls reminded her that yes, she had been sorted in Slytherin. And now she’d spend her classes sitting alone, like before she ended up in Maz’s house. 

Only now she wasn’t choosing to be alone.

_ Great. _

“Breakfast in the Great Hall. You’ll be handed your timetable. I suggest you get up quickly, you’ll probably get lost the first weeks trying to find your classrooms.” The prefect -the same one that had shown them the entrance to Slytherin’s common room last night- clapped her hands together, saying, “Chop, chop.”

Rey sighed before dressing quickly, tugging her hair into her usual buns and exiting her dorm with the other first-year girls. They joined the other Slytherins, no one paying much attention to her. As she suspected, the sunlight streaming in from the windows reflected the lake outside, bathing the common room in a soft green light. The corners of her lips lifted a bit. She liked her common room.

After a few tries, she found her way to the Great Hall with Beebee following her steps. Her shoulders relaxed with relief when she realized that all the students were seated mixed between houses, to the point that she couldn’t determine which table belonged to which house.

“Rey!”

Rose agitated her hand in the air, calling for her. Rey grinned and walked towards her, noticing Rose was seated next to Finn, Poe, Ben - _ when did he get a split lip? _ \- and the long-haired redhead Rey had seen at the sorting ceremony.

She waved at them and grabbed a plate, filling it with everything she could find. 

_ Consequences of not having a proper meal the night before.  _

“Who's this?” Rey whispered to Rose, sitting next to her. Beebee jumped onto Poe’s lap to the sight of him.

“Ah,” Rose grinned. “This is Kaydel.” The girl nodded and gave her a friendly smile, mouth full of food. “Kaydel, Rey.” Rey grinned. She liked her.

“She was having breakfast all alone. I had to tell her to sit with us,” Rose explained in a whisper.

“It's fine,” Rey whispered back. She cleared her throat, looking down the table, especially to Ben. “Did you get your timetables?”

They all nodded. Kaydel chewed and swallowed fast. “Sorry, Rey. The prefect gave me yours and asked me to give it to you.” She handed the parchment to her.

Rey examined it, munching a piece of her blueberry pancakes. History of Magic, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Astronomy once a week. All familiar to her, thanks to helping Ben with his homework last summer.

“I have a free afternoon on Fridays.” She smiled, raising her eyes to Ben and grabbing another mouthful of pancakes. While she liked that he was a part of her new group of friends, she wanted to have him all to herself at least once in a while. 

Ben caught her attention across the table. Rey mouthed the word  _ Friday _ silently, making sure no one else saw. Ben gave her a half-smile and a slight nod. 

_ Maybe her first week wouldn’t be so terrible after all. _

“Dameron, Quidditch trials on Wednesday night.” An older student dressed in red and gold palmed Poe’s shoulder.

Poe high-fived him. “Fucking  _ finally _ , Merlin.”

Ben rolled his eyes at him.

“When’s Ravenclaw having their trials, Solo?” Poe smirked, chewing bacon from his bare hand.

“Thursday night.”

Poe huffed. “I don’t know why you bother trying out. Your name has been put down for the team since birth.”

“Why?” Kaydel tilted her head.

“Hello? He's  _ Han Solo' s  _ son. Not to mention, his dad gave him the  _ Millenium Falcon _ ,” Finn pointed out.

Ben shrugged. “It’s just a piece of junk.”

“A piece of junk that flies amazingly well,” Rey added. 

Poe stared at her. Beebee meowed, trying to claim his attention. 

“You’ve flown the  _ Millenium Falcon _ ?”

_ Ah, he was jealous. _

“Damn straight I have.” Rey crossed her arms over her chest, looking at her cat.  _ Traitor. _

Poe opened and closed his mouth several times, looking like a fish out of water. “Are you- are you any good?”

“She’s more than just good; she's amazing. A natural,” Ben answered proudly before taking a bite of his toast.

Rey looked at him, blushing at the praise. He winked at her. 

She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Rey,” Professor Holdo smiled. “Good. You have your timetable. I believe you and Miss Connix have Potions with me today.”

The girls nodded.

“Excellent. Let me know of anything you might need, everything can be a little overwhelming at the beginning. Good luck.” Holdo grinned at them before walking to the Professors’ table.

  
  


Looking over at her fellow Slytherin’s timetable, Rey and Kaydel silently agreed to sit together at every class. Rey learned about her new subjects and a little more about Kaydel too. She came from an old line of wizards, all Slytherins. Rey noticed Kaydel lowered her eyes when she mentioned her parents, deciding not to ask any questions unless she brought on the subject. Rey found out Kaydel liked sweets more than anything in the world, didn’t have any siblings and did a great impression of Professor Flitwick.

Rey shared some classes with Hufflepuffs -Rose- and Gryffindors -Finn- too, which made her feel a little more at ease.

She liked almost all her classes, especially Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Skywalker’s classes were very practical since day one, asking students to leave their textbooks in their bags and showing them how to quickly identify a banshee and the easiest way to banish them.

However, towards the end of the week she had a ton of homework to catch up on. After procrastinating it for days -and staying up late every night reading one of Ben’s favorite books- Rey finally grabbed all her textbooks and planted herself at one of the library’s huge wooden tables on Thursday night. She realized -with a smile- that Ben’s library was like a mini version of Hogwarts’.

The hours went by quickly with the sound of her quill rasping the parchment and the pages passing by, and before she noticed the time, Madam Pince warned her she would be closing up soon. Yawning, Rey grabbed her finished homework and was walking towards Slytherin’s common room when she heard voices in the hallway next to her.

“Well, what do we have here?” 

The sound of boys whistling and muffled laughs could be heard on the other side of the stone wall. Rey froze, listening closely.

“It’s the Connix girl, Hux. Kaydel,” someone said.

“Kaydel, hmm? I think you mean Death Eater Connix. Yes, that fits much better, don’t you think?”

The boys’ laughs rose in volume. 

_ Hux. Kaydel. Fuck. Death eater? Why did he call her a death eater? What did that mean? _

Hux chuckled. “Yes, I think that’s much more fitting. You should be proud of yourself, following the footsteps of your mommy and da-”

“My name is Kaydel. You can call me that or nothing at all.”

The boys emitted a low “ooooh”. Rey clenched her fists.  _ If they bothered her any more, if they- _

“Mr. Hux?” Professor Holdo’s clear voice put an end to any further discussions. “It’s late, and I believe Ravenclaw’s common room is far away from here. Should I alert Professor Snoke that their students are out of bed?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I suggest you say goodbye to Miss Connix. I’m sure whatever it is can wait for tomorrow morning.”

Rey heard Hux stepping lazily away. “Okay, then...Professor. Goodnight… Nothing.” The other boys muffled a laugh, parroting quiet  _ nothing’ _ s as their voices faded away.

Rey walked quickly to the common room entrance, just as Professor Holdo and Kaydel stepped inside. 

“Off to bed, girls,” Holdo instructed.

They both nodded and walked to the girls’ dormitory. Kaydel went to bed immediately, not bothering to take her robes off. Rey hesitated, standing next to her bed, unsure if they were close enough to bring up the subject. She didn’t want to push. 

“You were listening, weren’t you?” Kaydel asked with her back turned to her.

Rey nibbled her lip. She had a feeling Kaydel wasn’t really asking, or maybe she just wanted to check if Rey would tell her the truth. 

“Kaydel, I-”

“Don’t.” 

Rey closed her mouth. With a sigh, she put on her pajamas and tucked herself into bed. 

She looked at Ben’s book over her nightstand.

_ Ben. _

She resolved to ask him about his trials tomorrow.

  
  


When Rey woke up, Kaydel wasn’t there and her bed was already made. A glance at the dormitory clock made her realize it was way later than she thought. She got dressed quickly and sprinted to the Great Hall to fetch something quick. Half a granola bar later, Rey stormed into Potions. Professor Holdo frowned and gestured for her to take a quick seat. From that point on, Rey’s Friday got only worse. With the hurry, she forgot her homework in the dormitory, skipped one of the steps and her potion didn’t work. By midday, she was elbow deep in dragon dung, moving it from one pot to another. A great fertilizer, according to Professor Sprout. 

_ Great fertilizer my ass _ , she thought. However, the worst part was that Kaydel was very actively avoiding her. 

At least she would be spending the afternoon with Ben.

After Herbology, Rey walked into the Great Hall -messy baby hairs framing her face- famished, thanks to her almost-non-existent breakfast. She had taken a shower after class, so she was later than usual. Only Rose, Finn and Poe were sitting in their spot.

“Niima,” Poe called, guitar on his hands.

Rey tilted her head in acknowledgment, stuffing her face with the first plate of food she could reach, a platter of fish and chips.

“Solo asked me to tell you he’s going to have to meet you later, and that he was sorry.” He said, fingertips gracing the strings softly.

She swallowed. “Ah.” 

_ Why did she feel so disappointed? She was still seeing him later.  _

_ Right? _

“Did he say why? Or at what time?” 

_ Or where? Or anything at all?  _ She thought.

Poe shrugged. “Something about Quidditch.”

“Ah. Okay then.”

Rey resumed eating with less enthusiasm, letting Rose and Finn talk as she pulled herself together.  _ She was just over-sensitive thanks to her shitty day _ , she told herself.

Rey re-read the same page again, watching the clock. Since Ben hadn’t been precise with what time they would meet, Rey wasn’t sure what to do in the meantime. Feeling like she couldn’t stay put, she decided to take a walk, exploring some of Hogwarts with Beebee. 

The castle was already colossal, but it seemed even bigger with the empty corridors and silent stairs. Beebee sprinted to a large framed painting adorned with fruits, nearly the size of the wall and meowed, poking at it with his paw. 

“You’ll have to wait for Rose.” Rey muttered to the cat. “I don’t know Hufflepuff’s password.”

Beebee sat on the floor, staring at her. Rey smiled. 

She sniffed something in the air. Something delicious wafted through the hall, infiltrating her nostrils.  _ Nutmeg, butter _ . A very unexpected knot in her throat bobbed. If she closed her eyes, Rey could almost feel she was in Maz’s kitchen with Rose.

She remembered vaguely that Ben had mentioned the Hufflepuff common room was close to Hogwarts’ kitchens, but hadn’t mentioned the location precisely. Rey examined the broad stone basement corridor, brightly lit and decorated with food-themed paintings. She scanned the biggest one, a bowl of fruit with a little pear at the bottom. Beebee meowed, looking at her. He touched the pear with his paw. 

To Rey’s surprise, the pear giggled and morphed into a large green handle at the height of her waist, revealing an entrance.

Rey opened the door. At first glance, she was enraptured with the enormous high-ceilinged room, as large as the Great Hall -Rey suspected they were standing directly below it- with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace at the other end. But the room wasn’t the most remarkable thing.

Hundreds of house-elves darted from one place to another in an organized chaos. Every single one of them was clean and neatly dressed. Their big, crystal-like eyes turned to her all at once in astonished silence, as if it wasn’t remarkably evident that wizards never dared step foot on the stone tiles. Rey felt her cheeks burn.

“May we help you, Miss…?” A small, loud elf squeaked at her, while the others continued to stare at the young witch.

Rey cleared her throat. “Niima. But call me Rey. I was just passing by and it smelled really good. Are you cooking something?”  _ Stupid question. _ It was obvious that the elves were busy right before she interrupted them. Rey cleared her throat again. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

The elves were frozen, staring at her as if she would run away any moment now. The elf who had asked her name smiled at her, his dragon-like, membranous ears perking up.

“Jar Jar, Miss Rey. It's Jar Jar. We’re preparing dinner for tonight.”

The elf glanced at the others, who went back to their tasks, but Rey continued to feel their curious eyes watching her in their peripherals.

Rey hesitated. The ambience of the kitchen was strangely reassuring, making her feel more at-home than she had all week. She wanted to stay a little while longer, but Ben-

_ It wasn’t like he had bothered to give her a precise time or place to get together. _

“Do you think I could give you a hand, Jar Jar? I won’t get in your way or anything, I promise. I just want-”  _ to feel like home, _ “to feel useful.” She smiled at the very surprised elf.

“Of course, Miss Rey. Are you hungry? We could-” 

Rey’s head was shaking before the elf finished the phrase.

“No, really, Jar Jar. I just want to help,” she smiled.

The elf nodded, still a bit confused. He left a cutting board and a sharp knife next to a bag of onions. Rey grinned, making sure her hair was tugged in her buns and rolling up her sleeves before washing her hands in a nearby sink.

Her tense back muscles started to relax as she began chopping, every cut making her feel closer to the normalcy she had known before coming to Hogwarts. The rest of the house-elves stopped shooting her curious looks. Beebee settled at her feet purring, watching the little elves jostling about. Soon enough, Rey was simply an addition to their dynamic in the long chain of work that would end up in feeding the hundreds of wizards currently bustling about above their heads.

A while later, Rey washed her red, swollen hands -after hours of continuous chopping-, in the sink and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Of course, they had used magic in most of the preparations; it was the only way they would manage to make such enormous portions of food as quickly as needed every day. But Rey had noticed the approving looks the elves had given her when they saw her chop onions perfectly until her hand cramped. There was a certain beauty in it, doing a monotonous labor like cooking with your own hands. Somehow, it was more meaningful than just waving a wand. It meant time, work, effort. Love. Appreciation for the ingredients, for the process, and also for the one who was going to taste it. 

But foremost, it was physical work, and Rey appreciated doing something with her hands, keeping her busy enough to stop thinking for a while.

Rey closed the sink’s tap. She dried her hands with a kitchen cloth and walked to where the elves were having dinner, all sitting together at one of the wooden tables, eating a very small part of their labor.

When they saw her they attempted to stand up, but Rey made a quick gesture with her hand. She felt bad enough interrupting their meal. Jar Jar stood up anyways and grabbed her hand, staring at her hazels with his green, big, glowing eyes.|

“Thank you for helping us out, Miss Rey.”

She smiled. “Thank you for letting me, Jar Jar. Is it okay if I come back some other time? Maybe I could help you with something sweet next time?”

The elf almost jumped excitedly, and Rey noticed the other elves were smiling at her approvingly.

“Of course, Miss Rey. Come anytime you want. We’re less busy at night.”

Rey nodded, grinning. One of the older elves - Rey could tell by the fluffy white hair next to her ears- spoke to her in a soft tone.

“You should go get dinner upstairs, Miss Rey. Your friends will be waiting for you.”

_ Ah. Ben. _

Rey nodded and waved the elves goodbye as she exited the warm kitchens with Beebee.

Rey sat on the table with an already seated Finn, Rose, Poe and Ben, the two latter contesting to find who could fit more chicken nuggets in their mouths. Ben stood up and grabbed her with one arm, a little away from everyone else.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she answered softly.

“I’m sorry about today. They tried me out twice in different positions and couldn’t get away sooner.”

Probably thanks to the afternoon with the elves, she didn’t feel as upset as before. “It's fine.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised with warm eyes. “Tomorrow afternoon?”

“Sure,” Rey gave him a little smile.

“I really am sorry, Rey. I’ll be outside your common room, 3PM sharp.”

Rey nodded and they walked back to the table. “Which position did you end up in?”

“Beater,” he smirked. “But they asked me to play in any position if the moment comes.” Ben shrugged.

“Cocky.” Poe rolled his eyes, caressing Beebee’s ears on his lap.

“Scared I might throw you a bludger next match, Dameron?”

Poe huffed. 

“When’s the first game of the season?” Rose asked

“The week before Halloween. Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor.” Finn informed.

Poe protested the weather conditions would only get worse and Ben mocked him saying he was just scared of losing. They kept bickering, Finn and Rose adding witty comments. Rey smiled at her group of friends while she ate, feeling more hopeful. It wasn’t their fault that she felt a little lonely sometimes. Plus, if the offer stood, she could always sneak down to the kitchens and bake.

Mocking giggles -from the place Hux was sitting with his friends, of course- and low whistles followed Kaydel as she walked into the Great Hall.

“Hey, Nothing.”

“What’s up, Nothing?”

“Nooothing.”

Kaydel pursed her lips in a fine line, firmly ignoring the comments.

“Fuck off, Hux,” Rey warned. She didn’t care if Kaydel didn’t want to talk to her anymore, Rey wouldn’t let that asshole bother her. She noticed vaguely that other green-tie students were looking at her grinning, in silent support.

“What’s that again, mudblood?” Hux asked, raising his voice, clearly hoping someone with more authority would hear her.

“I think she told you to shut the fuck up, Armitage,” the Slytherin prefect intervened, putting a hand on Kaydel’s shoulder and flashing Hux a warning smirk. 

Kaydel looked at Rey with a little smile.

Hux gave her a disgusted look, something in his expression giving her the strange impression that he wanted to spit on her. But the Professors, so nearby having dinner, seemed to make the decision for him.

“Let’s go,” he muttered to his gang of followers.

Kaydel took a seat next to Rey and helped herself to food on her plate. 

“Can you believe it? These assholes actually think they’re being original.”

Rose smiled. “Fuck them.” Rey looked at her surprised. Rose never cursed. 

Kaydel joined the conversation easily and gave Rey’s hand a little soft squeeze. She understood she was thanking her for standing up for her. Kaydel nodded and Rey grinned.  _ They were okay. _

When the dessert buffet appeared on the table, Rey noticed there were little brownies on her plate that she hadn’t put there. She smiled, silently thanking the new friends she knew had put them there just for her. 

-o-

  
  


Weeks passed quickly as Hogwarts’ forest leaves turned orange and then fell to the ground. Since it was cold outside, Ben invited Rey to Ravenclaw’s common room on the afternoons they spent together, unlike most evenings, where they all gathered in Gryffindor’s common room with Poe and Finn, since it was easier to congregate with the majority.

They read together sometimes. Other times they did homework. The Ravenclaw common room was almost always deserted. It was a wide, circular room, airier than any Rey had ever seen at Hogwarts. Great arched windows punctuated the walls, which were adorned with blue-and-silver silks. By day, they had a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet, making her feel like she was sitting amongst the stars. There were tables, chairs, and bookcases, and in a niche opposite the door stood a tall statue of white marble. 

Poe commented that each common room had a collection of vinyl records and a record player. Rey wanted to listen to each and every one of them, so she chose a different one every time they went to Ben’s common room.

On one of those afternoons, she stood on her tiptoes, hand extended in an attempt to reach the furthest record on the top shelf. Unsuccessfully.

“I can do it, you know,” Ben commented.

“Yes, I’m aware of how huge you are, Solo. I can do it myself, thank you very much,” Rey snapped. He was growing taller, and Quidditch training was making him bulk up a little, something Ben admitted with very poorly concealed pride.

She tried to reach the record again. When she turned around after the third attempt, Ben was sitting back on one of the couches, smirking.

“Something wrong, Niima?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Help me?”

Ben pressed his lips together, as if he was trying to decide to push further. He must’ve decided against it, because he extended an arm with ease and gave her the record she wanted with a wink. 

Rey put it on, the soft music playing as she sat on the couch with her favorite fluffy blanket wrapped around her body, shivering. Ben extended her a giant mug of steaming-hot cocoa with little floating marshmallows. She smiled at him, grateful, as he sat next to her wearing his blue-and-bronze Quidditch sweater. 

Ben picked the book from the little coffee table where he had left it, next to their wands. Rey narrowed her eyes.

_ Huh. I wonder why Ben didn’t just use magic to get the record. _

Ben cleared his throat and started reading in a soft voice, while Rey sipped the hot beverage, both hands holding the mug. 

"I like what Violet says," she commented.

"About what?"

"It's hard to think when your hair is all over your face."

He pressed his lips together, trying to contain the laughter.

Rey rolled her eyes, smiling. "Fine, laugh at me.”

"I'm not laughing at you!" He smiled back. They stared at the snowflakes falling outside the window.

"Is that why you always have your hair in buns?"

She shrugged.

"You'd look pretty with your hair down", Ben said, playing with a clementine she’d requested from Jar Jar as a little detail for him. 

Rey's cheeks flushed red. She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she decided to focus them on the book instead. 

"Not that you don't look pretty every day, it's just that-" He was completely red, ears included. The clementine fell from his fingers and rolled off the couch. Ben grabbed it and cleared his throat. "So, what do you think about uncle Monty?"

Rey smiled, silently thanking him for the change of subject. Ben was making her nervous, but not in a bad way. She wasn’t sure how to articulate this newfound embarrassment. But it made her warm, and she couldn’t admit that she kind of liked it. 

"I like that he has a house filled with snakes."

Ben smirked. "Could you be any more of a Slytherin, Niima?"

Rey nudged his shoulder. He chuckled, subtly putting it on the couch behind her back as he kept reading. Between Ben’s voice and the music as a lullaby, she drifted away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated (I'd love what you think it's gonna happen, we have a big reveal next chapter!) <3
> 
> In case you were wondering, Ben and Rey were listening to ["Scarborough Fair/Canticle"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jj4s9I-53g)
> 
> [author's twitter](https://twitter.com/sacred_nut?s=09)
> 
> If you're feeling supportive, I write better and faster on caffeine  
> [author's kofi](https://ko-fi.com/sacrednut)
> 
> PS. I made all the manips on the moodboard, but wasn't sure if someone would be interested in seeing them. I have 30+ (colorized) on a Pinterest board so if you'd like me to share lmk!


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